Going the Distance
by Drawinganimemaster
Summary: "It just hurts that you can't trust me and I...I can't believe I'm saying this but," Ruby let out a heavy sigh, glaring at the ground beneath her feet as if it were to blame for everything that was wrong in the world. "...I think we should take a break, Sapph," The taller girl felt as if her whole world was crumbling before her, everything she put into this relationship; crushed.
1. Senior's and College Freshmen

**Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 1: Senior's and College Freshman**

A boastful noise erupted from the crowd within the packed gymnasium as the girls basketball team took a two point lead with only five seconds left due to a fast break layup by a certain curly haired teen.

Ruby Harris tugged on her scarlet headband so it fell loosely around her head as she quickly ran back on defense, not leaving her back towards her opponent. Sweat caused her somewhat frizzy hair to stick to the side of her face, the salty sheen giving her hair a nice shine and natural curl affect.

The seventeen year old senior moved her feet, matching the point guard who tried to sneak past her to head to the basket. Her bright red sneakers, which contrasted nicely against her all white home uniform, squeaked on the court with her effort.

"That's what I'm talking about!" A loud, husky, cheer erupted from Jasper as the timer ran out and officially announced them as the winners.

Ruby had no time to react as her sweaty form was snatched into her bestfriend Jasper's equally soaked uniform, resulting in some sort of hug. It took little to no time for Amethyst to jump in between the hug, grinning, from where she had been standing on the court.

"Man, we are so going to States!" The purple girl declared, joy oozing from her. "And you," She playfully shoved Ruby. "Are twenty points away from reaching a thousand, you're name is going to be up on that wall with all the other great players soon,"

Ruby chuckled softly as she dispatched herself from the friendly embrace, fully removing her headgear and letting loose curls fall freely from their prison. "Let's talk about this later, right now we have to shake the other teams hands; good sportsmanship, remember?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she led her teammates to the line.

Jasper and Amethyst nodded in agreement as they stood behind the JV players who were benched for the whole game, shaking their opponent's hands.

"You played good number seven," One of the players announced as they gave Ruby a high five, the short haired girl grinned. "No one has ever been able to beat me on offence, I'm impressed. With great talent like yours I can't even be upset that we lost."

Ruby nodded softly, smiling. "Thanks, but you didn't make it easy for me. You're killer on defense and you have a great three point shot," The curly haired girl remarked to her opponent.

The slightly taller athlete let out a cute snort, her bright green eyes shining in the gymnasium lights. "Thanks, but next time when you guys come to us we won't make it so easy for you." She held her hand out, a soft grin on her lips.

Ruby took her hand, grinning softly. "Yeah, can't wait,"

"…" The green haired girl nodded, flushing softly, before she turned around to catch up with her team.

A heavy hand fell atop Ruby's head, Jasper raised an eyebrow. "Who's that girl you were talking to? She's kind of hot,"

"I hadn't noticed," Ruby muttered, frowning as she shoved Jasper's hand off her head. "You have been dating Lapis for a year now, you'd think you'd stop checking out other girls,"

Jasper shrugged, following the shorter girl to the bleachers. "I'm not checking them out, I'm just stating facts. She was hot,"

"She's got nothing on Sapphire though," Amethyst said, grinning.

Ruby groaned, taking out her phone as she gathered her belongings from the bleacher; looking up to see the crowd slowly exiting. "…I'm going to head out, it's almost time,"

"Oh yeah," Amethyst nodded, patting her friend on the back once more. "Tell Sapphire we all said hi. Jasper, am I driving your ass home again?"

Jasper nodded, following her purple friend out of the building. "Yeah, my car is busted again. I would have Lapis pick me up but I think she's busy,"

Amethyst didn't question the orange girl any further as she silently led them to her black Jeep that was parked out back.

"Great game Ruby," An unfamiliar voice announced, causing the shorter girl to turn around; the tall man held his hand out. "I'm a college scout for Beach City University, the name is Coach Dewey,"

Ruby nodded, shaking the coach's hand quickly; her red eyes flashing to the clock above.

She was running late.

"Look, Coach Dewey," Ruby muttered, her right foot tapping anxiously. "I would love to hear about your school and all but I'm running late, can I give you my number and then you can contact me sometime tomorrow morning?"

The slightly bald man chuckled. "Do you know who I am? I'm the Coach of a division one basketball team; we're ranked third in the state,"

Ruby frowned, not liking his pretentious aurora. "There're other teams that want me, I don't need anything from you. So what, you're a division one school, how does that make you any different from all the others?" He opened his mouth to speak but Ruby let out a groan.

"I don't have time for this!" Ruby shoved passed the man and jogged to her vehicle.

She was running out of time.

* * *

"Thanks for letting me borrow your notes again Sapphire," A blonde haired man said, handing the much shorter girl her notebook back; he smiled. "I would have failed that quiz if you hadn't have reviewed the stuff with me before class, thanks again,"

Sapphire offered a small grin, placing her notes back into her bag. "Ronaldo, stop thanking me already, it's fine." She mumbled, gathering her things from the lesson hall as quickly as she could.

Her blue eyes peered at her watch, she was running late. "…look Ronaldo I—"

"I know, I know," The blonde held his hand up, smiling softly once more as he adjusted his glasses; he let them fall slightly against his nose. "Tell Ruby that I'm still looking after you and that she has nothing to worry about, I'm gay anyway. But if I wasn't—" He paused, looking the medical major up and down.

He shook his head. "Nah, it would never work. I like men with a little meat on their bones. I love cuddle buddies,"

Sapphire snickered, pushing her friend playfully. "You know, I can still hook you up with that guy in our English class, I bet he's single."

Ronaldo made a face, disgusted at the suggestion. "Kevin? He's a total pedophile, and he's a stick!" He crossed his arms. "I have some taste you know,"

The long haired girl nodded. "Draw a profile of your type and I'll let you know if I find anyone who fits the description," Sapphire tossed her bag over her shoulder, snatching her phone before jogging towards the door. "I'll see you for dinner, yeah?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I'll text you. See you later Sapphire,"

The college freshman hurried towards the door. She had barely made it out before her professor stopped her.

"Sapphire, can I have a word?"

Sapphire bit her lower lip, glancing at her watch. "Sort of, yes—"

"Good, this will only take a second." Professor Diamond held up her hand, gesturing her student to stop talking. "Your research paper on common illnesses that have found new cures was brilliant. Congratulations, you've managed to get the highest grade in the class," The older woman handed the neat seven paged paper over to her student, smiling.

Sapphire took it thankfully, a bright smile on her face. "Thank you,"

"Don't thank me, you're the one who worked hard for the grade," Her professor said, looking at the clock. "Now, I must hurry before I am late for my next lecture, keep up the good work."

Sapphire nodded gratefully, beginning her journey up the stairs leading to the dorms. "Will do Professor Diamond,"

The long haired girl was hit with multiple greetings from her classmates and ballet friends as she sped walked to her room. Sapphire simply gave a quick hello before continuing on her way, if she were in high school people would have found it rude; but this was college.

A large portion of the students were always in a rush and barely had time to do simple things like stop and have a conversation. So, when they saw the studious Sapphire making a break for her room they assumed it was to study.

That wasn't the case today.

"Shoot," Sapphire nearly cursed, hurrying with her key when she felt her phone begin to vibrate in her pocket. "…hello!" She shouted through the phone she had managed to fish from her pants pocket before shutting her door behind her, all but dropping her bookbag and A-plus research paper to the ground.

Ruby winced from where she was sitting on her couch, softly petting Snowflake whom had taken refuge on her lap. "Ow, why are you shouting Sapph? You hurt mine and Snowflakes ears," She gestured to the dog who had now awoken from her nap.

Sapphire, breathlessly, chuckled as she collapsed face first on her bed. "Sorry, I was rushing to get back here as it is," She took a calming breath, smiling at the much needed husky voice of her girlfriend. "…guess what,"

Ruby raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Another A I presume?"

"Yeah," Sapphire chuckled, flipping over to look up at the ceiling; her feet kicking on the edge of the bed. "My research paper this time, Professor Diamond says that I had the best one in the class,"

"Nice," Ruby whistled. "How's Ronaldo doing?"

"I'm trying to find someone to set him up with," Sapphire joked. "But seriously, he and I are supposed to be going for dinner in an hour or so. What's on your schedule?"

Ruby smiled softly. "I'm going to visit Steven again tomorrow, he's getting big. I might even bring Connie and Peridot with me, maybe just Connie. I think Peridot is out of State for some photography gig,"

Sapphire nearly squealed. "Steven! I miss him so much, summer went by too fast and I feel like I haven't seen him in years. Is he walking yet?"

"Nope, but he's crawling and then he does this weird thing where he rolls over on his back and just sits there," Ruby scratched the back of her neck. "He's a weird kid," She mumbled quickly before carrying on. "Anyway, as you know, I am twenty points away from reaching a thousand,"

Sapphire grinned. "Yeah…" She drawled out.

"And I average twenty five points a game, so I'm positive that I'm going to get it at our next home game Tuesday," Ruby concluded. "And I would really like for you to be there, if you could." She added, letting her girlfriend know that she could understand if she couldn't attend.

Sapphire bit her lower lip, holding back a smile. "What kind of girlfriend would I be if I missed something this big, right?"

"So you'll be there?" Ruby asked, trying to confirm once more.

Sapphire nodded. "I promise,"

Ruby pressed her hand to the phone before shouting. "Yes!" Her loud voice echoed off the living room walls, making Snowflake jump out of her lap and walk into the kitchen where her food was; Ruby cleared her throat. "Cool,"

Sapphire snickered. "You held the wrong side of the phone, Ruby,"

The curly haired girl flushed, grinning. "Worth it,"

* * *

Jasper frowned, arms crossed over her chest. "This isn't right Lapis and you know it isn't,"

"It's fine," The swimmer said, trying to reason with her girlfriend. "He just had a bad day at work and ever since mom died—"

Jasper snarled. "There is no excuse to why he should be hitting his daughter!"

Her voice boomed in the car that belonged to Lapis Lazuli. The couple of one year, and a few months, was currently parked outside of the school. The swimmer had gotten out of her classes a little late, which worked out fine because she managed to catch Jasper and Amethyst in the parking lot before they left.

Amethyst made a small joke about someone being whipped before she said goodbye and went to her own vehicle; most likely to visit Rose and the baby.

Lapis tried again, growing aggravated as the conversation drew on. "Jasper—"

"No," Jasper snapped. "You told me that all of this would stop once you graduated. That you would move out and dorm for college, somewhere he couldn't find you!"

Lapis glared at the orange girl, pushing her roughly against leather seats. "Well I apologize for not being smart enough to get into a good college and having to settle for community! Sorry swimming didn't work out for me! I'm sorry my shoulder gave out during one of the biggest meets of my life! I fucking apologize for failing at everything I do!"

Jasper's eyes widened before falling slowly, she cursed at herself for forgetting everything that Lapis had been through in the past few months. She should be more understanding.

"Get out." The swimmer said before the orange girl could apologize.

"Lapis—" Jasper begged, a look of sorrow on her face for the emotional distraught swimmer. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"Get the fuck out!" Lapis broke down, tears in her eyes, as she violently tried to shove Jasper out of the car. "Go ahead, leave! Leave like everyone else!" Her slaps and punches grew weaker as her emotions poured out.

"I don't blame my father for abusing me, I'm worthless." Lapis slumped over on Jasper's broad left shoulder, her short hair falling messily around her perfectly sculpted face that was covered in makeup; an attempt to hide her bruises. "I'm worthless,"

Jasper pulled the sobbing girl into her chest, placing comforting pats on her back. "No you're not," She softly shushed the crying girl, tears falling from her own eyes for seeing her lover in so much pain.

"It's okay, I'll never leave you,"

* * *

Amethyst knocked on the wood door before her, placing her hands in her pocket when a tough breeze came her way.

The front door opened, revealing a very tired looking Greg who was holding his son on his hip. "Oh, Amethyst, hey," His expression lightened, a soft smile forming on his face. "I forgot that you were coming to visit, how was the game? Sorry I missed it but—"

Amethyst shrugged, snatching Steven away from her exhausted friend. "It's cool dude, you're busy playing baby daddy; I understand. But we did win," She said over her shoulder as she let herself in, grinning at the child. "Hey Steven!"

Steven, the six month old, looked at the chubby girl who held him close. His dark brown eyes looked her over before he snatched a fist full of her long purple hair; trying to pull it into his awaiting mouth.

"That's not food, Steven," Rose announced as she walked into the living room slash dining room, dressed in a white tank top and black sweats. "Hey Amethyst, glad you could come over."

"No problem, this dude is getting bigger every day," Amethyst smiled, glancing at Greg who had plopped on the couch. "I bet you can't wait to teach this kid how to play the guitar, right G-man?"

Greg nodded, bags under her usually lively eyes. "Yeah, as soon as he learns to hold his bottle. I should probably get that—"

"You have work in a few hours, let me do it," Rose said, motioning her friend to follow her into the kitchen.

Amethyst placed Steven in his play pin before leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "How are things?"

"Rough," Rose said, not holding back when it came to Amethyst; if it were anyone else she would have braved a smile, but the purple girl would see through that. "I'm ready to work but I can't find a babysitter right now, let alone pay one. Greg has stopped playing music and has actually got a job as a waiter; he can barely keep his grades up in school,"

Rose shook the bottle vigorously. "My stupid parents won't give us a dime. They say, and I quote, you got into this situation so you're going to find a way out of it."

Amethyst whistled, taking everything in and coming to one conclusion. "So, I'm guessing your sex life isn't happening anymore?"

Rose snickered. "Of course not, we haven't even set a date for the wedding,"

The purple girl sighed, speaking seriously this time. "You can get us to babysit, you know. Not so you can get a job, but so you two can have a break once and a while." Amethyst mumbled, thinking aloud. "I can babysit—"

Rose shook her head. "You, Ruby and Jasper should focus on basketball. I don't want to ruin the chances of you guys getting scholarships,"

"Alright," Amethyst nodded, agreeing with her. "Pearl is out of the question, she goes to college around here but she's away on a ballet tournament this week. When she gets back she's probably going to drown herself in her school work," She huffed.

Rose raised an eyebrow at the sudden tension in the air. "You two doing okay?"

"Just dandy," Amethyst breezed over. "Peridot—"

"Is already babysitting Connie, I wouldn't want to put too much on her. Plus she's finally doing her photographer thing," The pink woman mentioned, smiling softly. "I'm so proud of her,"

Amethyst nodded, looking at the larger woman sheepishly. "Jasper and Lapis—"

"Are you crazy?" Rose stopped, glaring at the purple girl. "I'd rather let Steven be raised by wolves,"

Amethyst groaned. "Can't your parents just—"

"Again," Rose muttered. "Wolves,"

"Look, I'll figure something out. Maybe Ruby knows someone," Amethyst looked at the clock. "I have to get home before the snow hits, I heard there's going to be a crazy storm. I'll be back in a few days,"

Rose nodded, picking up Steven to feed him. "Bye Amethyst,"

"Later Rose," The purple girl waved, only to find the long haired man passed out on the couch; she smiled softly, closing the door behind her. "Night Gregory,"

* * *

A van pulled over at a gas station along the side of a dark road. Not too long after, several skinny girls jumped out; all dressed in comfortable sweat suits and blankets draped around their shoulders; protecting them from the cold.

"Ten minutes before we hit the road again girls," A large woman announced as she pumped gas into the blue van. "Make your bathroom breaks happen now because we aren't stopping until we reach Delaware, and for fuck's sake will someone buy me a snickers bar this time!"

Rainbow Quartz snickered, looking down at the skinny ballerina. "Are you going to get Coach Diamond's snickers bar for real this time?"

Pearl hummed, slowly walking towards the candy section. "She did give me a big role tonight, but yesterday she sat me out; I'm conflicted," The gears in her head came to a conclusion, she shrugged. "I'll get her a KitKat,"

"Nice," Rainy grinned, walking with the girl to the register; she nodded her head to the gift section. "Aren't you going to pick something out for Amethyst? Maybe a box of chocolate will make her realize that you've gotten over your Quartz crush," She joked.

Pearl, not even batting an eye or housing a single blush, rolled her eyes. "Asshole, that was so long ago,"

Once Pearl had moved out and started college her fixations on the Quartz family had come to an end. Sure her crush on Rose stopped when she and Amethyst became serious, but she couldn't lie and say that she didn't feel a hint of attraction for her ballet instructor that was Rainy.

Her attraction for the older girl fell short after the thrill of having her as a dance instructor drew down. Seeing her everyday made her realize that the tall girl wasn't an above average person, in fact she was the opposite. Sometimes she even reminded her of Amethyst. Amethyst!

The loud burps that she couldn't hold back to the silent farts that threatened their lives on road trips like these slowly put a stop to her crush. Still, Rainy wasn't a disgusting person; she was human and still very beautiful.

Pearl just saw her as an older sister now.

"But really," Rainy said once they purchased the snack. "How are things with you two?"

Pearl took a moment, since they still have three minutes left they stood near the van. "I called her yesterday after the recital and she seemed fine. Told me about basketball and stuff, same old; I miss her, that much I can agree on,"

"Is the spark gone or something?" Rainy tried to understand.

Pearl scoffed, saying nonchalantly. "I still want to rip her clothes off through the phone when we talk, if that's what you're asking,"

"I'm not," Quartz made a face; still not over how blunt Pearl had grown over the past couple of months, opposed to how much of a prude she was in high school.

"Let's get a move on ladies!" Their coach, Yellow Diamond, shouted at them from out the window.

Pearl sighed, walking on the van once more. "Look, if it worries you this much, I'll call her once we get to the hotel. She texted me about visiting Steven again and I know she's going to be tired from the game once she gets back so I can't do it tonight," She tossed the candy bar to her coach. "Heads up,"

Yellow Diamond groaned. "Not what I asked for but who cares what I want, I'm just the coach and I…" Her voice lowered as she ranted on to herself, angrily ripping the bar open.

"Hey Peri," Pearl said softly, walking past the smaller girl to the seat behind her where she and Rainy's stuff were. "I still can't believe you ditched school to be our photographer for this week, won't your absences add up later?"

Peridot, looking at the pictures she had taken on her camera, snorted. "I'm a senior; high school is a joke to me now. I just need to get my diploma so I can make this into a living,"

Pearl nodded, pulling out her phone. "Well, I'm glad you're with us," Her phone buzzed. "...hm,"

A text from Amethyst greeted her. The skinny ballerina grabbed her green tea and took a sip as she opened the message.

"Psh!" Pearl chocked silently at the picture of Amethyst, with way too much cleavage showing, winking popped up on her screen. "…I wish you were here to take care of—" She read the text softly to herself.

"What was that?" Rainy pulled her headphones out, looking over at the skinny girl.

"Nothing!" Pearl turned her screen off, a hot blush on her face. "I just can't wait to get to the hotel so I can get some real sleep,"

Rainy frowned, slowly putting her headphones back in. "Well, just make sure to show me whatever nudes you got tomorrow; it's been a long week for me too," She teased, admiring her flustered looking friend.

New blunt personality or not, Pearl still blushed like a prude.

* * *

"Fuck," Ruby groaned, pulling her vibrator away from her heated region and tossing it somewhere in her dark room. "…I wish you were here," She sighed tiredly as she looked up in the dark, her neon clock reading 12:45.

Her alarm was set for five.

"I think I'll use my senior pass and stay home tomorrow, I'm exhausted," Ruby rolled her eyes at Sapphire's soft chuckle. "Not from you, jerk. My game really wore me out and tomorrow's Friday anyway,"

Sapphire shrugged, pulling her blankets up to her chest. "I wish I could stay home too but I have class in the morning and then practice at four, but I'll be back by seven and I'll call you then,"

"Cool, I'll probably be at Rose's house by then and I can send you a picture of Steven," Ruby mumbled. "Connie might be with me so this, can't happen again," She gestured to her sweaty form.

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "…you started it,"

"Sorry, your voice does things to me past a certain time," The curly haired girl teased, holding back a yawn. "Don't you have homework to do?"

"Finished it yesterday," Sapphire said, cursing under her breath when she realized something. "Shit, I was supposed to get dinner with Ronaldo. This is the second time I've cancelled on him,"

"Have dinner tomorrow and just text me when you're done, I'll be free," Ruby said, sighing when she heard a car door slam. "As much as I want to stay on the phone, my mom just drove up and she already yelled at me last time for talking to you too late. Love you Sapph, I'll call you later,"

"Love you too Rube."

Ruby hung up the phone hesitantly before plugging it to the charger and resting it on her table beside her bed. Just as she had gotten comfortable, her phone blinked with a notification. Instead of being Sapphire, like she expected, there was a follow request on her instagram from some girl named Centi_P_12.

Not thinking much of it, Ruby accepted her request before following the girl back.

* * *

 **A lot of stuff is going to happen in this series that will test how strong your ships really are. This beginning is pretty slow, sorry for that, just trying to set a foundation and let everyone's problems be known. This is the third and FINAL series of Love Baseball and Ballet so we're going out big here. Please tell me what you think so far.**

 **Although, I do not know when I will be updating again; I'll try for Saturday at best and if you're lucky maybe Friday.**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this beginning.**


	2. Familiar Faces

**Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 2: Familiar Faces**

The clock hit twelve, exactly five minutes before they would be dismissed from class; Ruby noted as she turned her attention back to her phone from her spot in the back of the classroom. Her teacher was going on about Psychological disorders and phobias, but she had no interest in that subject.

 **S: Ronaldo and I are getting ready to study for this English test we have Wednesday**

She texted Sapphire back quickly.

 **R: Have fun with that**

"Ruby," Jasper called out from beside her.

The shorter girl looked away from her phone, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"I'm thinking about skipping English and Gym," The larger teen said. "In English we're watching some dumb black and white movie and in gym we're playing volleyball, so I can go without both. Instead I was thinking about hitting up that new restaurant across from the park,"

Jasper went on. "It's not too far from here so we can be back in time for practice,"

"I have study hall and I was planning on leaving anyway, so why not," Ruby grinned, flicking her purple friend in the back of the head. "Loser, I know you were listening, are you coming with us?"

Amethyst turned around, rubbing her head with a grin. "Hell yeah, free food and I don't have to waste my own gas!"

Ruby nodded, looking back to her phone as her friends talked about their plan.

 **R: I'm going out to eat with Jasper and Amethyst**

The bell rung, letting them know that the period was over.

"Let's get out of here," Jasper groaned, jumping from her seat and almost sprinting to the door.

Amethyst cheered, snatching her book bag from the ground. "I call shot gun!"

"No you don't," Jasper huffed over her shoulder.

Ruby stood up slowly, grabbing her book bag and car keys before following behind her friends.

* * *

Sapphire closed her anatomy textbook softly, she leaned back into the chair as she closed her eyes. "I think that's all the studying I'm going to do today,"

Ronaldo chuckled as he also closed his book, letting it fall on the red bedspread that had thin blue strips going across it. "Me too, my brain can't take any more knowledge,"

"Want to take a break?" Sapphire suggested, opening her eyes and spinning her chair so that she could face the blonde. "There has to be something relaxing that we can do on this campus,"

"Kevin invited me to one of his parties but they get pretty wild, and you and I are not the party types," He mumbled, fixing his glasses briefly. "…we can take a walk in the park, maybe watch some tv in the lounge room?"

Sapphire made a face, gesturing to her flat screen her parents had bought her. "We could just watch tv here, but that park thing sounds nice. Maybe we can invite holo Pearl," She joked, loving the annoyed look on her friends face.

"Are you crazy?" He frowned, quickly passing over that suggestion.

Holo Pearl wasn't the girls name of course, her real name was Penny. Sapphire and Ronaldo gave her that name during the beginning of the school year. Penny is an acting major and is serious about her roles, so serious that she refused to break character for a robot film the school was putting on.

Penny claimed she got a lead role of a girl named Pearl who had to pretend to be a robot in order to survive the robot apocalypse. The play was such a letdown and Sapphire was convinced that Penny didn't have a true role in that play because all her character kept saying was _would you like to engage in combat?_

They were glad the play was over, after hundreds of students demanding their money back and Penny following them around repeatedly asking that same question.

Sapphire sighed, her laughing fading away slowly. "I'm joking, we're never going there again." She watched, amused, as the man nodded in agreement. "Do you have someone in mind?"

Ronaldo perked up. "I can call Bonnie, she's always ahead with everything and now that midterms are over I know that she has nothing better to do," He dialed the girls number; leaving it on speaker, Sapphire moved to get closer.

Yep, Bonnie is the same one that Sapphire met during the Christmas party last year. It turns out, she's just as much as a nerd as Sapphire is. They found out they went to the same school a couple months ago when they each got assigned lab partners in biology.

It's funny, Sapphire was worried about having to be with some weirdo but when she and Bonnie were the only ones without partners they couldn't be happier. The best thing is, neither of them are slackers and they are both well educated in that course so the projects go along easily.

"Hello?"

Ronaldo smiled. "Hey Princess, it's your favorite guy," He teased, using the nickname she had been branded with for some reason that Sapphire was unaware of.

Bonnie sighed on the other line, Sapphire could almost see her rubbing her temples. "What is it now Ronaldo?"

Sapphire took over, letting her friend pout at being addressed so poorly. "Bon, it's Sapphire, Ronaldo and I are taking a break from studying and wanted to know if you wanted to go with us to take a walk in the park or something. Maybe we can get something to eat or even go shopping?" She suggested.

Ronaldo perked up. "Shopping is a must!"

Bonnie hummed, the sound of something dropping could be heard on the line. "I'm leaving my apartment in exactly six minutes, I'll pick you two up at the campus in five; we can explore the square that's like thirty minutes from here," The sound of keys jingling reached their ears. "I'll call you when I'm here!"

Sapphire grinned. "Sounds good,"

Bonnie said goodbye before hanging up. The scientific prodigy didn't live on campus like everyone else, even though she got a full ride to the school and could have dormed for free. Her family comes from generations of wealth and she used that to her advantage, buying a cozy apartment near the school.

She claimed she didn't like roommates too well.

"This is going to be so much fun!" The blonde cheered, packing his bags as he got ready to meet their friend downstairs; he paused, chuckling. "Hey, you ever watch that show? What's it called…Adventure Time?" He asked.

Sapphire nodded. "Yeah, my cousin loves that show."

"That's where Bonnie got her nickname from, PB. She looks just like that girl on the show and so does Marceline," He snickered. "Isn't that crazy?"

Sapphire frowned, not amused. "It's a cartoon and I can't really see the resemblance,"

Ronaldo stopped laughing, he made a face. "…seriously?"

* * *

Ruby and her friends followed the waitress to the four person booth seeing as there was nothing else, all the tables had been taken. Ruby and Jasper sat together with the shorter girl inside and Amethyst sat across from Jasper on the other side.

The black haired woman handed them menus and took their drink order before walking away.

"This place is crowded, the food better be good," Amethyst mumbled, flipping the menu open as she looked at the list. "…buffalo wings for appetizers?" It wasn't a question but it came out like one.

Ruby grinned, skimming the list. "Like we order anything else," She took a quick second to examine it before she slammed it shut. "I'm getting a cheeseburger with fries, maybe a milkshake?"

Jasper chuckled. "You get the same thing every time…I'm getting some ribs with fries and a coke," She challenged tossing the menu aside, grabbing her phone as it vibrated. "…fuck me sideways," She groaned.

Amethyst whistled, still looking at her options. "No thank you, I have someone who does that for me,"

"Idiot," Ruby scowled, but chuckled none the less before she turned to her friend. "What's wrong now?"

Jasper nearly jammed her thumbs into her phone as she texted. "Lapis is pissed that I didn't invite her to come to lunch with us, she thinks I've been lying to her and that I'm cheating on her or something."

Ruby let out a soft sigh, feigning interest in a strangely shaped mark on the ceiling above them. Amethyst kept silent, pretending to decide on a meal.

Jasper frowned. "…confession time—" Ruby and Amethyst groaned. "What?" Jasper nearly snapped, giving up on texting the emotional swimmer.

"You can't keep using confessions as an excuse for us to be honest with you," Ruby explained. "It ruins the whole purpose of confessions,"

Amethyst nodded. "Confessions are for things we've been keeping locked up and finally need to release, not an honesty card."

"Then just be honest with me," Jasper huffed. "What do you really think of my relationship with Lapis? You two haven't said anything since you found out last year, you kind of just make facial expressions that I don't understand,"

Ruby scratched the back of her neck. "…you want me to be honest?"

"Yes!" Jasper huffed.

Ruby nodded, glancing at Amethyst before giving Jasper her full attention. "…honestly, I think you two are unstable." She held her hands up, ready to explain. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing though, I just think you two need to talk a few things out before anything real can happen."

Jasper took the advice. "Believe me, I've tried talking to her! But one minute we're talking about how angry she gets and the next minute we're making out in my car. I can't get a word out before she's sticking her tongue down my throat,"

Even Amethyst made a face at that one. "Look dude, Ruby and I have no business in your relationship. You just need to find a way to sit her down and talk things out," She concluded, dropping the menu finally. "I'm going to get a pot-pie, I shouldn't eat much before practice,"

A new waitress walked over to them, she pushed her shoulder length green hair out of the way before she held up her pad. "Sorry about the wait, Stacey just had a family problem and had to leave early so I'm your new waitress. My name is…hey, I know you!" The green eyed girl stopped midsentence, pointing to a startled Ruby.

The curly haired girl frowned, before gaping. "Oh, yeah, you're the girl from the game right? I didn't know you worked here,"

The taller girl nodded, grinning. "I didn't know you lived around here,"

"We don't, but we heard that this place had good food," Jasper said for her friend, waving at the familiar basketball player. "I'm Jasper by the way, that's Amethyst and this is Ruby,"

"My name is Cynthia Peddle," She announced. "But you can all call me Centi,"

Amethyst chuckled. "Funny, Centipedal could be your nickname,"

Ruby shook her head. "Wow, it only took you five seconds to come up with a nickname for her. That must be a new record,"

Centi hummed but smiled none the less. "I like it,"

Cynthia had straight shoulder length light green hair, short bangs hanging over her left eye. The other eye that presented itself freely behind thinly framed glasses was a brighter green than her hair color; she seemed just a little taller than Amethyst and if Ruby hadn't have had a sudden growth spurt during the summer she would have been taller than her too.

Sapphire was amazed when Ruby hugged her goodbye at the airport, only to realize that her girlfriend was almost a head taller than her. Then again, she didn't seem to complain either.

"What about you Ruby?" Cynthia asked, snapping the red girl out of her daydream.

Ruby sat up, handing over the menu. "Oh, I'll just get a well done burger without onions and some fries,"

"Looks like someone was daydreaming about Sapphire," Amethyst teased, observing the soft blush on her friends face.

Ruby huffed. "Shut up,"

"Who's Sapphire?" Cynthia asked, a smile still on her face.

Jasper shrugged as if it were nothing. "Just her girlfriend of what, seven years,"

"No just about two and a half," Ruby corrected, punching her friend in the arm. "Someday though,"

Cynthia's smile fell but only slightly, it was barely noticeable but Amethyst could tell. "Well, I'll be right back with your food and drinks; I promise it won't take long,"

Amethyst shrugged, waiting for her to walk away before giving Ruby a look. "…she's hotter than before,"

"Oh come on!" Ruby frowned.

Jasper nodded. "When she's wearing glasses instead of those weird goggles she has this hot nerd thing going on,"

Ruby shook her head. "You guys are ridiculous,"

"We're just saying she's kind of hot," Amethyst shrugged. "…a little bit,"

* * *

Sapphire and Ronaldo jumped into Bonnie's car when she drove up to the front of the campus. The blonde aimed for the front but after the cold glare he received from the driver he sheepishly walked to the back, leaving Sapphire to fiddle with the radio up front.

"Marceline wrote this?" Sapphire asked, bumping her head to the beat. "It's pretty good,"

Bonnie smiled, her pink shades glistening in the sun light as she took a left turn. "Thanks, it's from her new album which is kind of like her journal that she decided to finally publish; after taking a few things out of course," She grinned, an idea coming to her.

"Marceline and her band are supposed to be playing around our area in three days, how about we check it out? Her fans are pretty crazy but I can get us backstage where it's calmer," She suggested.

Sapphire nodded. "I'm in,"

"Me too," Ronaldo grinned. "I haven't seen Marcy since middle school, that's when you two met remember?"

Sapphire hummed, interested. "You met in middle school? Does that mean you all went to school with Ruby?"

"Possibly, but we didn't know her because we were in a grade higher," Bonnie smiled. "Marceline was close to failing when they asked me to tutor her in biology, I knew her to be a jokester so of course I had my concerns. But she showed promise from day one and aside from being a math genius, she passed with a C,"

"Ever since then we were pretty good friends," She brushed her hair to the side. "We started dating during junior year, a few months after that jerk Ash dumped her," She frowned, hands tightening on the wheel. "Hate that guy," She mumbled.

Ronaldo frowned. "Yeah, I remember him."

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "What's so bad about him?"

"I'd rather not talk about this during our day of relaxation," Bonnie mumbled, turning the radio up a little. "Another time, but for now let's decide which store to shop at first,"

Sapphire looked out the window at the slowly passing stores. "I can use some more tights for ballet,"

"I need some tights too," Bonnie mumbled, making a move to pull into an open park.

Ronaldo shrugged. "I guess I can scope it out and see what they have, but after this we have to get some frozen yogurt,"

Bonnie made a face as if it were obvious. "Oh, it's a must,"

* * *

"We should head out now," Ruby looked at the clock. "We have practice in twenty minutes and we aren't even changed,"

Jasper nodded, grabbing her to go box. "Yeah, I don't want to hear coach yell at us today," She slid from out of the booth and stretched. "How much are we leaving for a tip?"

Amethyst threw down a dollar. "That's all I have in cash,"

"Hm," Jasper shrugged, tossing two dollars down near the one bill.

Ruby huffed, digging into her wallet and placing a five dollar bill near the others. "Free loaders, let's get going," She motioned for them to follow.

Cynthia collected her tip as the three basketball players walked out of the restaurant, a soft smile on her face.

* * *

"Take five ladies," Rainy said, watching the dancers let out a sigh and walk to their water bottles. "How you holding up P?" She asked, walking to the posed girl who was in the process of stretching her back.

Pearl hummed. "I'm fine, just a little sore; I'll have to ice later tonight." She glanced towards the green girl who was observing her camera in the corner on the floor; she walked over in three long strides. "Peridot, how are the pictures coming out?"

"I just need to edit them tonight and they'll be ready for the big show case," Peridot announced, a confident smile on her face.

Pearl chuckled, nudging Rainy in the stomach with her elbow. "Peridot, those pictures weren't needed until a few months from now; you're way ahead of schedule," She bit her lower lip, mischief shinning in her eyes. "I think we should take you out tomorrow,"

Rainy nodded. "To the club, maybe we can set her up with someone?"

"No thank you," Peridot said awkwardly, tugging on the strings of her green hoodie nervously. "I've dealt with relationships in the past—"

Pearl scoffed. "No, you've dealt with Jasper and Lapis in the past; now you're ready for something real, you deserve it."

Peridot couldn't deny the empty feeling in her heart that kept prodding at her.

Rainy spoke. "Now, what's your type?"

Peridot shrugged. "…I don't know?"

"That's fine if you don't know," Pearl said, placing her hands on her hips. "But tomorrow we're going to find out!"

Peridot gulped; what had she gotten herself into?

* * *

"Come in," Rose called out from where she was watching Steven in the living room, smiling when her friend walked in. "Hey Ruby, how was practice?"

Ruby shrugged, grabbing Steven softly. "Boring, how was your day?"

"Fine, I guess," She shrugged, rubbing her swollen eyes. "Steven has been having trouble sleeping; therefore I don't get any sleep either."

Ruby made a face. "Sorry to hear that, maybe I can get my mom to babysit Steven?"

"Seriously?" Rose made a face.

Ruby snickered. "What, she works from home now and is always there to make dinner for me! She's more responsible than she was last year; you can get a job, my mom won't pay much," She suggested.

Rose thought it over. "It does sound reasonable, I'll have to think about it,"

"Let me know," Ruby handed Steven back over to his mother, she sighed. "I was just stopping by to tell you that, where's Greg? Is he still at work?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah, he'll be back early in the morning,"

"Cool," Ruby said, walking towards the door. "Next time I'll bring someone who has something interesting to talk about, like Jasper." She teased. "Be good Rose, and lock this door; there are crazy people out here,"

Rose snickered. "Goodnight Ruby,"

* * *

The front door to Sapphire's one person dorm was unlocked and just as quickly as it opened, half a dozen shopping bags were thrown inside and onto the floor; she turned around, flicking the lights on blindly, and looked to Ronaldo. "Thanks for walking me back, are you going to head back to your dorm now?"

Ronaldo flushed, scratching the back of his neck. "A-actually, I think I'm going to check out Kevin's party…"

"Hmm," Sapphire hummed knowingly.

"It's not like that, I just want to see if I'll meet someone, shut up! Stop judging me behind those bangs," He huffed, pulling out his car keys. "Anyway, I'll tell you about it tomorrow after class; maybe during our study session,"

"Can't," Sapphire mumbled, leaning on the door frame. "Bonnie and I are working on our project, it's due in a month but we want to get it out of the way; maybe the next day or just text me,"

Ronaldo frowned. "Texting won't do it justice, I'll call you instead; have a nice night," He waved, jogging to the stairs as she shut and locked her door.

Sapphire kicked off her purple flats and jumped face forward on her bed, she pulled her phone out and dialed Ruby's number.

It rung two times before the other girl answered, a smile sounding on the other line. "Hey Sapph,"

"Hey," Sapphire grinned, plucking at her bedspread. "I just got back from shopping with Bonnie and Ronaldo, we're going to go to one of Marceline's concerts this week; she's in our neighborhood."

Ruby groaned. "Lucky, I just got back from Rose's house; I suggested my mother babysit Steven while she looked for a job or something,"

"Maybe," Sapphire mumbled. "But Friday, your thousand point game, I will be there; I already made room in my schedule and told coach I wouldn't be there,"

Ruby cheered. "How long will you be here, just that day?"

"I'll be leaving Monday so I'll be there for three solid days," Sapphire said, smiling.

Ruby chuckled. "Nice, I'll start making plans; maybe we can go to the beach house?" She made a noise, thinking again. "But we still haven't cleaned it since the party…"

"I'll be happy just being able to see you, Steven and all our friends again," Sapphire said. "I think Pearl and Peridot are supposed to be back in town by then too,"

Ruby hummed. "Good, Amethyst really missed her this month,"

"How is Jasper, are her and Lapis doing alright?" Sapphire asked softly.

Ruby paused. "Honestly, I have no idea what's going on with them and I'd rather stay out of their business. All we can do is hope that things will work themselves out," There was a thump heard on her side of the line, Ruby huffed. "My mom's back with dinner, we ordered Chinese tonight,"

"Your favorite," Sapphire mumbled almost automatically, a soft smile on her face. "Orange chicken?"

Ruby chuckled. "Correct, I'll text you tomorrow; love you,"

"Love you too," Sapphire said before hesitantly hanging up the phone.

* * *

The front door was pulled open by a large man with short brown hair. He was dressed in a stained grey sweatshirt with loose blue basketball shorts. It was dark inside the living room behind him as the television flickered, its dim light revealing empty beer bottles scattered over the floor.

"What do you want?" His voice reeked of alcohol, enough to burn the hair out of one's nostrils.

Jasper frowned, placing a hand over her mouth. "…can I see Lapis?"

He nodded his head to the stairs, not saying another word before he plopped back down on the dented couch. Jasper ran up the steps and made a beeline for her girlfriend's room at the end of the hall, she pushed the unlocked door open.

She nearly jumped in surprise when she saw Lapis sitting on the edge of her bed, in the dark. "…hey bae—"

"Where is she?" Lapis asked.

Jasper frowned. "Where's who—"

"The little bitch you were cheating on me with," Lapis said, frowning as Jasper huffed angrily. "That has to be the only reason why you stopped answering my calls. Do you love her?"

Jasper groaned, rubbing her face wearily. "…look, you need to calm down alright? I already told you that I was hanging out with Ruby and Amethyst; my bestfriends! I keep telling you that I'm not cheating on you!"

"Right, the same way you weren't cheating on Peridot?" Lapis shot back, an eyebrow raised.

Jasper threw her hands up. "You know what, fuck this, I'm done. You're insane and I'm not going to deal with you anymore, my friends were right—"

"So your friends told you to break up with me?" Lapis frowned, grabbing the larger girl by the arm. "Can't you see? They're trying to tear us apart!"

Jasper snatched her arm away. "My friends didn't tell me to do this, they told me to talk things out with you but I can see that it's impossible so I'm just going to end this now. You're crazy and I'm fucking done!"

Lapis ran to the door, watching Jasper walk towards the stairs; she panicked. "If you leave me…I'll kill myself!"

Jasper stopped in her tracks, eyes wide as she turned around to face the distraught Lapis; her hair in tangles, eyes bloodshot and lips twitching between a smile and a frown. All of her body weight was leaning on the door frame, she limped like a doll.

"I love you too much Jasper, please, don't go," Lapis begged, gripping the door tighter. "I can't do this without you, please, say you love me; tell me you'll stay and we'll work through this…I want this to work,"

She was gone, the woman that Jasper thought she could once love. The prodigy swimmer, the free going person who did whatever she wanted and took whatever she could; she was gone.

All that was left was an empty shell of her former self and Jasper didn't know if the old Lapis could be brought back.

"Okay," Jasper nodded, wrapping her arms around the weeping girl; she hushed her. "…I'll stay,"

But that didn't mean she wouldn't try.

* * *

 **Hope you guys like this chapter, I hope the ending wasn't too dark for you guys. Again, no idea when I'll be able to update but when I do you'll know.**

 **Also, though it was implied in the story; don't skip class kids! Education is important!**

 **Hope you liked this chapter and I'll see you next time.**


	3. Scream Queens and the Mall

**Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 3: Scream Queens and the Mall**

Ruby shrugged her shoulders, swallowing the piece of pizza provided to her by the school's cafeteria; the sun rays making her eyes shine from where she and her friends were eating in the courtyard.

"I have to make sure," Was all she said before taking a swing of her apple juice and kicking her feet up on the upside down flowerpot.

Jasper, sitting beside the shorter girl on the bench, frowned. "Make sure what? You know that she's going to be at the game tomorrow, has Sapphire ever stirred you wrong?" She pointed out.

"No, but, still," Ruby bit her lower lip. "A lot of things can go wrong, like; what if I don't score my thousand points tomorrow?"

Amethyst snickered, looking at her friends from where she sat on the bench parallel to them. "You only need twenty more and you average way more than that, don't worry about it,"

The sound of the school bell made the chubby girl groan; she began gathering her trash and tossed it into her plastic bag. "Can we leave early again, sign ourselves out, coach said we don't have to go to practice and we have nothing but an elective right now,"

Ruby shrugged. "That's fine with me, but just a heads up; I won't be in town Sunday,"

"Oh, are you going to check out that college?" Jasper asked, standing up from the bench with a sigh. "They're division I, right?"

The curly haired girl, also stood up, and nodded. "Yeah, it's only like an hour away and it offers my major and all but I'm still a little iffy about it,"

Amethyst snickered, following behind her friends as they excited the courtyard and walked back into the school. "Please, the only iffy thing about it is that Sapphire won't be there,"

"Oh come on," Jasper frowned, defending the shorter girl. "You can't lie and say that you've been working things around your schedule to make sure you and Pearl stay close together once graduation comes."

Amethyst shrugged. "…it's not too important to me, if she's close by I mean; I trust her," She mumbled halfheartedly. "Plus, she's sort of doing her own thing and I'm really proud of her,"

"What do you plan on doing anyway, Am?" Ruby asked, glancing behind her back where the chubby girl followed.

Jasper looked ahead but kept her ears open.

"I don't know," Amethyst confessed, shoving her hands into her pockets stubbornly as she glared up at the ceiling. "Maybe I'll go in as undecided until I find out what I really want…a few colleges want me for baseball, maybe I'll check into that,"

"That's great," Ruby smiled.

Jasper bit her lower lip, looking at her friends sheepishly. "…we've, the three of us, been bestfriends since third grade; I just can't believe we're really splitting up for good this time,"

Amethyst chuckled nervously, just like she always did when conversations tended to get too complex and soul searching. "Yeah, I've always pictured us going to the same college and then moving next door to each other or something."

"Seriously," Jasper smirked, playfully shoving the curly haired girl. "Ruby would be a famous basketball star who retired in luxury but still decided to live in a small town,"

Ruby shoved the larger girl back, grinning. "Jasper would be a star quarterback and have as many girls as she wanted,"

"And I would be one of the best pitchers in the league," Amethyst concluded, smiling softly at their ambitions.

The curly haired girl let out a heavy sigh. "And our kids would be bestfriends just like us, but I'd have to keep Jasper's son away from my daughter,"

"So you've already decided that you'll have a daughter," Amethyst raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a name picked out?"

Ruby flushed lightly, she nodded. "…just always thought of having a daughter, but there's no name picked out,"

"Liar," Jasper teased. "What does Sapphire think about this?"

Ruby shrugged. "We've talked about moving in together for college but I guess I'll have to see what happens in the future,"

"Please, it's Ruby and Sapphire," Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Of course they're going to stay together,"

Jasper nodded, holding the door open for her friends as they entered the main office. "Yeah, high school sweethearts who end up with a huge wedding and a house on the hill; I call best man," She said before she grabbed the pen on the table and began signing the form.

"So, where are we going?" The larger girl mumbled.

Amethyst leaned against the counter. "How about we walk around the mall for a bit, I can use some new shirts; then we can get some food too,"

Ruby finished filling the paper out, she smiled. "That sounds good to me, let's get going," She paused. "Oh, and, Amethyst is going to be the best man but you can be the ring bearer Jasp," She teased, only half serious.

She knew that they would each play a role in her wedding; she just didn't know who the bride would be. Hopefully it would be a certain ballerina, as long as things kept leaning in their favor.

"…hmm," Jasper shrugged. "Okay, that's fine too,"

* * *

The front door to Sapphire's one person dorm room was unlocked and pushed open abruptly. She glanced up from where she was sitting on her neatly made bed; hair pulled into a high ponytail, Ruby's old white basketball sweatshirt fitting her snuggly and tight brown jeans matching her white sneakers.

"Remind me why I gave you a key again," The freshmen joked, blindly closing the novel she had been reading before placing it on her pillow softly.

Ronaldo grinned, holding the door open for a somewhat shy looking Bonnie. "Because you love us…Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy; Big Boogey Adventure," He mumbled the last part absentmindedly.

"Oh boy," Bonnie rolled her soft brown eyes, resting her hands at her hip as she gave the man a knowing look. "Why are you quoting that movie again, I thought you were past this phase,"

The blonde shrugged. "…it's such a great movie,"

"We know, you've told us a dozen times," Bonnie glanced to her lab partner, she smiled. "Are you ready to go Sapph? Marceline said her band plays last which is around seven, it's already six thirty; we should get going if we want to get any room upfront,"

Sapphire stood up, stretching her back before grabbing her black purse; she followed them out the door. "I can't wait to hear her again, if she's any better than she was at the Christmas party then I know this show is going to be amazing," She locked her room door and then trailed behind her two friends as they headed towards the exit.

"I wonder if she has any new songs out," Ronaldo wondered.

Bonnie hummed. "Not yet, she'll probably just play her old classics. But she has been working on this new one that she plans on playing at a prom she got invited to perform at; come to think of it, she's playing at your old school," She glanced back at the shorter girl.

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "That's a coincidence; I guess someone at the Christmas party recommended her or something,"

"Lucky, you'll get to watch her perform again Sapphire. You're going to prom, right?" Ronaldo asked, frowning slightly when the girl bit her lower lip nervously. "…Ruby, she hasn't asked you yet?"

Bonnie, now interested, also turned around to face her tense friend. "Do you think she's going to?"

"I think she is," Sapphire shoved her hands into the comfortable white sweatshirt pockets. "We talked about it a few days ago but it didn't sound like she was serious; it would be nice though, since I had a ballet recital during mine last year and couldn't attend."

Bonnie smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure she's just waiting for the right moment, you're going to her basketball game tomorrow so I'm sure she'll do it after she scores her thousand points,"

Ronaldo snickered. "Yeah, Ruby would do something romantically cheesy like that. And then after, she'd take you back to her place and—"

"Ronaldo!" Bonnie squeaked, her face stained red along with Sapphire's. "That's so distasteful!"

He held his hands up, face turning bright pink as he shook his head. "I was going to say have a nice dinner and a cute movie to cuddle to; I swear!"

Sapphire swallowed, her mind going straight to the gutter. "…can we not talk about this anymore?"

"You're right, sorry," He nodded, letting out a soft sigh and smiling gently at the shorter girl. "Worst comes to worst, you can ask her to prom,"

Sapphire grinned. "No, something tells me that she's going to do it soon,"

* * *

The soft orchestra music came to an abrupt stop when Rainbow Quartz turned off the stereo, causing several of the dancers to stop in the midst of their twirls and spins; she let out a panting breath. "Alright girls, that's all for today; get back to your rooms, get some food and rest up for the show tomorrow."

A chorus of _'Yes Rainy'_ echoed in the hollow walls of the studio.

"How do you feel?" Rainy asked, leaning against the support rail as she watched Pearl gather her belongings.

The skinny girl pulled a black hoodie over her head, strands of blonde hair flailing around messily. "Like shit."

"No," The coach snickered, arms crossed with an amused look on her face. "How do you feel, about performing back in your home town in Beach City; you know, where you _girlfriend_ will be." She mentioned not so subtly.

Pearl sighed, glaring at the girl as she rose to her full height. "…what do you want me to say?"

"That you've missed Amethyst and that you can't wait to see her again so you can have mind blowing sex," Rainy said apathetically, she slapped her students shoulder softly. "But really, did you even invite her?"

Pearl pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "It never came up—" She huffed as the older girl groaned. "She has a game tomorrow so she can't even make it, and even if I could see her after my recital we're leaving immediately after anyway."

Peridot, from where she was sitting across from them with her legs crossed, looked up from her camera with a frown. "I thought we were staying there for a week before leaving again—"

"Peridot!" Pearl hissed through her teeth. "I mean…Peridot," She cleared her throat, finding a way to change the subject. "I heard you hooked up with some chick last night when Rainy took you to the club, how'd that go?" She quirked an eyebrow.

Peridot flushed, stuttering nervously. "Nothing happened!"

"Pretty sure I heard you, along with someone else, come home pretty late last night," Pearl grinned. "One night stand, hmm?"

Rainy, now interested, also joined in. "You brought her back to your place? Damn P, you work fast don't you; Pearl, you should have seen the girl she was with." She licked her lips. "Beautiful in all the right places,"

"What's her name?" Pearl asked, literally bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement.

Peridot looked at the ground, face darkening. "…Alexandrite,"

Pearl wiggled her eyebrows. "Sounds fancy, but honestly; it's no big deal if you guys didn't do anything but cuddle or cry or—"

"I didn't cry!" Peridot complained. "…why does everyone…"

"Whatever," Pearl huffed. "I'm just glad you're putting yourself back out there, especially with what happened last year; you don't have the best dating history but I'm glad you're willing to learn to trust someone again,"

The photographer fixed her glasses, she nodded. "It wasn't…Alex, she's helping me learn to trust. Last night all we did was talk about our dreams and deepest wishes; it was weird, I've never had such a deep connection where the other person doesn't use it to try and sleep with me,"

"I could tell that she was being honest, that she really wanted to get to know me," Peridot fiddled her fingers nervously. "…I've never felt this way, she said she'd pick me up after rehearsal so we could get some dinner; she loves dancing,"

Rainy smiled fondly. "That's great P,"

The small girl nodded, a certain spark in her eyes. "Thanks…whenever we talk, I get these butterflies in my stomach; you know what I mean?" She glanced towards the skinny girl.

Pearl nodded, Amethyst made her feel that way when they had first started dating. "…Yeah,"

But lately…

Pearl cleared her throat, speaking confidently. "Yeah, defiantly,"

The spark had grown dull.

* * *

"Thanks," Amethyst smiled at the cashier as she grabbed her bag of shirts and jogged outside to reach her friends. "I got the best deal on these drift shirts," She pulled out a black shirt with purple cloud designs on it.

Ruby nodded, standing up from the bench she and Jasper were resting on. "Nice, Jasper and I were talking about going to that pizza place we saw a few stores down; unless you want something e—"

"Ruby?"

The curly haired girl turned around, her eyes widened. "Oh hey, you're Cynthia right? The girl from the restaurant and the game," She felt her friends walk to stand beside her, also observing the girl. "What are you—"

The short green haired girl waved at the other two beside the curly haired girl. "Hey Amethyst, Jasper,"

Jasper nodded, eyeing the girl closely. "Hey,"

"Sup Centipedal," Amethyst said with ease, throwing her bag of clothes over her shoulder lazily. "Didn't know you shopped around these parts,"

She nodded, bright green eyes shining behind her glasses. "I live around here and I needed some new basketball socks, I'm going to wear them when we sweep the floor with you guys tomorrow," she teased, a grin on her lips.

Ruby raised an eyebrow, glancing at her amused friends. "Whoa, let's save it for the game princess; I've already crossed you up about five times in one quarter so maybe you should be looking for some ankle braces instead,"

Amethyst cheered. "Burn!"

Centi held her hands up, nodding. "Alright, I guess I had that one coming." She smiled softly. "I was just coming back from that pizza place down there,"

Amethyst nodded. "We were just going to go there, get some hot wings or something,"

Ruby crossed her arms. "Do you want to come with us?" Her friends glanced at each other, frowning. "We're getting the wings to go and then we were going to do some more shopping or something, you have some time to spare?" She wondered.

Centi, flushing slightly, smiled. "Uh, yeah sure, that would be cool; did you want to check out Footlocker after?"

"Yeah," Ruby agreed, curly hair bouncing as she began walking towards the restaurant with the smaller girl beside her. "I've been meaning to get some more headbands,"

Jasper and Amethyst followed slowly behind the two who were too lost in conversation to see the disapproving look on the duos faces.

* * *

The trio of college students flashed their backstage passes to the guards at the door before they were granted admission into the medium sized room. Inside, all the band members were sitting around lazily with drinks in their hand; sweat dripping on their face from their performance.

"Hey college nerds," Marceline announced, walking out from the kitchen with a towel wrapped around her shoulder as she opened her arms out to her girlfriend. "Hey babe, i—"

Bonnie squealed, running under the space beneath her arms to get away. "Marcy, you're sweating! You know how I feel about that,"

Marceline smirked, whispering softly beside her girlfriend. "You seemed to like rolling around all sweaty with me last night after my show in the back seat of my—"

"Marceline," Bonnie cleared her throat, grabbing the arm of her smirking girlfriend and pulling her towards the door. "…come with me to get something to drink, I saw this guy selling slushies out front."

The leader of the band frowned. "Why can't you go alone?"

"Because," She gave the black haired girl a look. "I'm really in the mood for a _slushie_ ,"

The taller girl flushed darkly, a small grin forming on her lips as she blindly opened the door for her girlfriend. "Oh…guys we'll be right back," She called over her shoulder as they quickly left the room.

Ronaldo made a face. "Those two are nauseating," He joked, sitting next to Guy on the couch; a flush on his face.

"You only had to deal with it tonight," Guy informed him, scratching her short brown hair lazily. "We have to deal with the sexual tension at every practice and every gig. It's worse when they fight though,"

Keila, the lead guitarist, snickered before placing her unopened beer can back into the cooler. "I guess I shouldn't drink this then,"

Sapphire was about to ask her what she meant when the door opened up again. A flushed Bonnie, along with a very handsy Marceline, gave them a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, I'm going to give Marceline a ride to her place," Bonnie said through heavy pants, she swatted the touchy hands away from her hip playfully; Marceline huffed. "Keila could you—"

"I know," The skinny girl waved them off. "We'll see you kids tomorrow at rehearsal, drive safe."

Marceline pulled her girlfriend out the door. "You're the best, see you guys later!"

Keila grabbed her keys, motioning for the college students to follow. "Come on you two, auntie K is in charge,"

Ronaldo jumped up from the couch, grinning. "I call shot gun,"

Sapphire got up from where she was leaning on the wall and followed her friends out the door, glancing at the two boys once more. "I'll see you later Bongo, Guy,"

"Later ice queen," Bongo mumbled, turning back to the television.

Guy smiled politely. "By Sapphire, and let me know about the prom thing; I will slap some since into Ruby if you need me to." He looked at the blonde when Sapphire nodded. "See you Ronaldo~"

The blonde squeaked, waving shyly. "Y-yeah," He mumbled, closing the door behind him and leaning on it heavily. "…what?" He frowned, looking at the smirk on Sapphire's face.

"So he's the reason why you weren't interested in dating Kevin, hmm?"

Ronaldo stuttered. "N-no, it's not like that!"

"It's fine," Sapphire held her hand up, winking. "I like this one better, anyway,"

Ronaldo didn't say anything as his cheeks tinted a darker shade.

* * *

"Thanks for letting me join you guys today," Centi said as she held her bags behind her back, she smiled. "You guys are really cool, when you're not blowing my team out on the court,"

Jasper shrugged. "It's all part of the game, nothing serious,"

"Yeah," Amethyst agreed. "Just a game,"

The short haired girl nodded. "I should get going, I have to tutor a kid in math in a few hours, but it was nice hanging out with you all. I'll see you tomorrow at the game, good luck," She smiled shyly, avoiding the curly haired girls gaze before she hurried in the opposite direction.

Ruby hummed, turning around and glancing towards her friends. "She seemed nice, a little quirky but nice."

"Despite the fact that she was undressing you with her eyes half the time," Jasper shrugged. "Then yeah, she's not that much of a home wrecker."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "This again? Come on, it's not like that and you know it; I'm very much in love with Sapphire, that girl can't even compare to her,"

Amethyst nodded. "Yeah but it still didn't stop her from thinking about it; and honestly, if I was your girlfriend I wouldn't want you hanging out with some girl while I'm not close enough to do anything about it."

"It's not like I invited her here!" Ruby defended herself.

Jasper sighed. "Look, just stir clear of that chick; she can be trouble if you make her seem like you're interested. Just don't give her any hope,"

"I won't, because I'm happy with my relationship with Sapphire," Ruby frowned; pulling out her vibrating phone, she waved it at them teasingly. "Speaking of which; my _girlfriend_ who I am _happy_ with is calling me, so if you'll excuse me,"

Amethyst folded her arms. "I don't care what Ruby says, that girl is into her,"

"What are we going to do about it?" Jasper asked, glancing to the shorter girl.

"Nothing yet, but if she tries to break our friends up…" Amethyst frowned. "Then there is going to be a serious problem."

* * *

 **Sorry for not updating but I've been busy picking colleges and with track season, all that bittersweet stuff. I was going to add more to this chapter but I have school tomorrow and it'll be better to start on a fresh page. Sorry again and I hope to see you soon.**


	4. The Game

**Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 4: The Game**

A heavy sigh escaped from the curly haired teen as she tossed her black Nike duffle bag over her shoulder, Ruby walked out of her room and closed the door behind her. "Mom, I'm leaving!" She shouted, carefully stepping over Snowflake who was sleeping at the edge of the stairs.

"Wait, let me get a picture!" Scarlet cheered, running out from her room a few doors down; wearing nothing but red lacy panties and a tight white tank top, the camera in her hand.

Ruby groaned, hurrying down the few stairs and searching for her keys in order to make her escape. "For the love of—Put some clothes on! This is why I don't bring Jasper and Amethyst over when you're home!"

A bright flash came from behind the shorter girl; Scarlet chuckled as she observed the sloppy picture of her daughter from behind. "Is that why I haven't seen them in a while," Ruby hummed in agreement as her mother came to join her in the living room, she sidestepped so that she was in front of her daughter. "Please, just one serious picture; you look so adorable in your uniform!"

Ruby muttered under her breath but gave her mother what she wanted; a soft smile graced her lips, arms folded behind her back.

The curly haired girl was dressed in her clean white uniform with bright red elite socks, red headband to hold her curls in place and her light red sports bra was peeking out from under her uniform straps. Her sneakers were inside her bag so that only left her in comfortable black Nike flip flops.

"Satisfied?" Ruby asked with an exhausted look on her face, grabbing her bag and newly found keys before slowly walking towards the door.

Her mother nodded, immediately sending the picture to friends and family. "Very, your grandmother is going to love this; you remind her of your father, when you're dressed like that." Her voice lowered to a soft whisper, her fingers stopping in their typing in order to reminisce.

Ruby's hand froze on the door knob; she hesitantly turned to look over her shoulder. "...dad played basketball?"

"Oh yeah," Scarlet smiled sadly. "In high school, he was the best shooting guard in Beach City; I swear, sometimes when you're playing it looks like him out there. For once, being impulsive is a good thing and you both used it to your advantage," She cleared her throat. "I'm sure he would have taught you how to play basketball but..."

Ruby nodded, not giving her mother a chance to finish. "Yeah, I know mom,"

Her mother fixed her messy hair before smoothing out her wrinkled tank top in a nervous habit. "Well, you have a game to get to; I'll be there to watch as soon as I get dressed," She pressed a soft kiss on her daughters forehead and for once, Ruby didn't try to stop her.

Scarlet's smile turned taunting. "Don't worry, I won't be home tonight because of a work call,"

"And why would that affect me in anyway?" Ruby asked, one foot already out of the front door.

"Sapphire's coming home from college today, right?" Her mother questioned.

Ruby, slightly uneasy about the direction of the conversation, nodded. "...yeah, she'll be here until Sunday night,"

Scarlet marked her mental calendar. "Okay...so I should be home around twelve to give you some time to clean up and get rid of the smell, unless there's some foreplay in the morning or the shower-"

Ruby huffed in confusion. "Shower, mom, what are you talking about?"

Scarlet ignored her. "That all depends on time though," She turned to face her aggravated daughter, expression serious. "Ruby, how many organisms do you have in one night; how long do they last?"

Ruby's face turned a bright red, she gaped. "That's none of your damn business you old hag!" She shouted, completely mortified.

"Hey, I thought we passed the name calling during sixth grade," Her mother folded her arms playfully. "Besides, you should be happy that you have a mom who is okay with her daughter being sexually active. I really don't think I'm asking for much, just a schedule-"

Ruby exploded. "There is no stupid schedule and...why am I even talking to you about this?" She questioned herself, making another move to leave.

The older woman held up a metaphoric white flag. "Okay fine, let's just agree to have the house nice smelling and clean before eleven thirty," Scarlet added quickly before Ruby could leave. "And keep it in your room please; your friends sit on this couch!"

Ruby shoved her bag into her back seat before climbing into the front, pulling her seatbelt on and starting the car. "For the love of—mom! Close the door, the whole town can see you!"

Scarlet, leaning against the wide open door in her underwear with no shame, shouted. "Keep it out of the kitchen please!" She watched her daughter roll the windows up and drive away.

"We eat there!"

* * *

A soft knock awoke the snoring skinny ballerina from her slumber. Short blonde hair stuck up at odd angles as she yelled at the intruder to wait. She pulled herself out of bed, walking across the warm wood floors and towards the door.

"What?" Pearl mumbled, looking down at the shorter girl who was dressed in a white shirt and black jeans; camera, as always, hanging from her neck. "Peridot, it's like six in the morning,"

"It's actually eleven," Peridot frowned, eyeing the filthy room behind the skinny girl; the blinds were shut, keeping the room dark. "...Amethyst has a basketball game today, Rainy and I were gonna watch to see Ruby score her thousand points; Rose and Greg might even bring Steven, and Connie will be there too," She smiled.

Pearl nodded, leaning on the frame with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "I heard, Sapphire called me yesterday," She said, watching Peridot gave her a confused look.

The shorter girl raised an eyebrow. "You two still keep in touch?"

Pearl frowned, giving the shorter girl a look. "We're best friends, of course we keep in touch,"

Peridot, glad that something still stayed the same, grinned. "So you'll be at the game tonight?"

"Sure," Pearl confessed, looking at Peridot strangely. "Why wouldn't I? My girlfriend is playing,"

Peridot bit her lip, pausing. "But you haven't even told her you're in town yet..."

Pearl huffed, crossing her arms with a slight pout. "I was going to get to it...thought maybe I'd surprise her then we can go out to eat or something. I feel like we haven't talked in a while," She cleared her throat, brushing a stray of loose blonde behind her ear. "Are you bringing Alex with you?"

The shorter girl shook her head. "Not this time, I just want to relax with my friends and introduce her later. Things always go wrong when friends get involved anyway," She scratched the back of her head in thought. "Maybe that's why Ruby and Sapphire kept quiet for so long?"

Pearl shrugged, far passed worrying about their relationship. "Probably," She stood up a little straighter. "I have a few more hours of sleep to catch up on but I'll see you at the game?"

Peridot grinned, excited to get the original gang back together. "Yeah, of course, I'll save you a seat!"

"Great," Pearl mumbled, hiding the excitement from her voice as she closed the door; not letting the shorter girl see the bright grin spread across her face.

* * *

Rose squealed, throwing her arms around the short long haired girl. "I can't believe you're here! We haven't seen each other in person for months!"

"It hasn't been that bad," Sapphire smiled brightly, hugging her friend even tighter before pulling away to look at the familiar face. "So...where is he?" She gushed, not being able to hold back her joy.

Rose gestured to the door as she pulled her friend inside. "Greg, Sapphire is here!"

The long haired teen waved from the couch where he was half awake, a small bundle of joy sitting atop his supple stomach and playing with his slowly growing beard. "…Sapphire…hey," He waved before knocking out again, his snores filling the small apartment.

"Hello Greg," Sapphire greeted him politely, her true focus on the infant. "Hi Steven, do you remember me?" She used her soft baby voice as she easily scooped the curly haired boy into her arms, Steven dropped his blue pacifier to release a giggle; he kicked his footie clothed legs in excitement.

"How can he not remember you, you're one of his favorites," Rose said honestly, smiling as her son tried to pull Sapphire's long strands into his mouth. "You can feed him for me while I get dressed for the game; Greg will be staying home to rest,"

The college student nodded, sitting down on the single chair with Steven in her lap. "Alright," She thankfully took the banana flavored food from Rose's hands and began to feed the eleven month old. "…is he doing any talking yet or just mumbling?"

Rose, almost shouting, from behind her and Greg's bedroom door responded. "He can speak a little bit, especially when it's with someone he likes." There was a soft thump before she spoke again. "He can say the basics like mommy and daddy, mommy came first but Greg with try to tell you otherwise."

Sapphire snickered, at her friend and the way Steven tossed his food back and forth in his mouth. "I bet he would," She mumbled, wiping away drool from Steven's face with his bib.

"He can say Ame but not Amethyst's full name yet, Peri, Jasp and Ruby," Rose said, walking out of the bedroom now fully dressed in one of Greg's band shirts, jeans and comfortable sneakers.

Sapphire frowned, watching her friend gather Steven's stroller and supplies. "Are you kidding me? He can say Ruby's name and not mine?" She huffed, a mix of upset and shocked.

As if on cue, Steven smiled a one toothed smile and kicked his legs. "Rue-be!"

"Not helping," Sapphire sent him a look which resulted in another giggle from him. "…I can't stay mad at you…Can you say Sapphire?"

Steven repeated. "Rue-be!"

"You're hopeless," Sapphire pouted, giving up as she placed the infant into his stroller. "No worries, I'm here for two days and I'll make sure you can say Sapphire by the end of my trip,"

Rose patted her bestfriend on the shoulder as they exited the house, locking the door behind them and walking towards Sapphire's car. "Don't worry, Ruby is just an easy name to say; give him some time."

"Yeah, yeah," Sapphire opened the back door and gestured to the middle. "Do you want me to put the car seat in for you?"

Rose nodded, handing her friend the seat. "Yeah, thanks," She mumbled, pulling Steven out to rest on her hip. "…do you know if Pearl is coming?"

"Oh yeah," Sapphire mumbled easily, pulling the straps together and double checking just to be safe. "She called me yesterday to ask if I was going, she'll be there but a little late. Her ballet squad just returned from a late night recital and as soon as she reached the hotel, before calling me, she knocked out."

Sapphire grabbed Steven and strapped him in, pressing a kiss to his forehead before closing the door. "You ready?"

Rose nodded, hoping into the passenger seat and buckling up. "Does—does Pearl seem, different to you?"

Driving out of her park, Sapphire glanced at her friend before facing the road. "I mean, yeah. We both left to per sue our dreams in order to change and find ourselves; I would hope she isn't the same person from high school, you know?"

The larger girl leaned her head on the glass window. "I know, but she is really distant with me. We don't talk like we used to and—"

Sapphire sighed. "…Rose—"

"Did you know that she hasn't come to visit Steven once since he was born?" Rose accused, as if she demanded Sapphire be outraged.

"I didn't know that," Sapphire admitted, but did not take her side. "But she's busy—"

Rose scoffed. "Please, even you can take a few days off to see me and you're attending one of the best schools in the state; Pearl is always in town, she barely even see's Amethyst when she is here,"

"That's none of your business, Rose." Sapphire's hands tightened on the stirring wheel. "There relationship is between them, and if you want Pearl to talk to you then do it tonight; she misses you just as much as you do her,"

The larger woman sniffed, smiling softly. "Please, Pearl is different now; she isn't into that dumb girl bonding stuff anymore like before,"

"Pearl is still Pearl," Sapphire mumbled. "…she's just better at hiding her emotions, but it doesn't mean she doesn't care,"

Rose raised any eyebrow. "Then what does it mean?"

Sapphire shrugged. "Maybe it means she cares too much?"

"…maybe," Rose muttered, leaning back in her seat with a sigh. "I've bored you enough with my problems, are you excited to see Ruby again?" She grinned, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Sapphire groaned. "Steven's in the backseat, can we not talk about things like that right now?"

"I wasn't even going there," Rose frowned. "…you're staying at her house though—"

Sapphire shook her head. "Just because my father is out on business and I don't want to be alone with my mother for a whole night so I'm staying at Ruby's before I stop by the next day,"

"Like Ruby's mother is any better," Rose snickered.

Sapphire smiled. "No, she's just as crass as my mother but she's a little more bearable," She looked at her friend once she stopped at a red light. "What are you doing after the game?"

Rose shrugged, running a hand through her thick curls. "Probably try and put Steven to sleep before two and get about thirty minutes of sleep because Greg has work early in the morning,"

"…what if Ruby and I watched Steven for the night?" Sapphire hesitated, biting her lower lip. "We could bring him back around twelve or—"

Rose shook her head. "Sapphire, no, I couldn't ask you two of that. You've been apart for months and this is the one night you'll have together; plus I know you two would rather do something a little more physical for the night," She winked.

"We're not going to do that tonight, I'm exhausted from the ride here and I'm sure Ruby is pretty tuckered out too," Sapphire flushed, pouting. "Our relationship is based off more than that, you know…"

Rose giggled. "I know, but I still can't ask you to do that."

"Well we're doing it anyway," Sapphire stated. "Just for the night so you can get a break and we'll have him back around twelve, that will give Ruby and I enough time to relax together,"

The pink haired woman sighed in defeat. "…alright, thank you."

"What are friends for?" Sapphire grinned, looking in the mirror at Steven who was chewing on the ear of his teddy bear. "You hear that Steven? I'll teach you how to say my name by tomorrow, if it's the last thing I do,"

Steven giggled, kicking his feet happily. "Rue-be!"

"Dang it!" Sapphire groaned, cursing under her breath as Rose snickered; giving her son covert thumbs up.

* * *

Seven minutes into the fourth quarter and the score was tied up. The home crowd cheered loudly for their team as sixty seconds was put on the clock right before Ruby called a time out.

"We have to do something," Ruby pulled her sweaty hair down, pulling it back into a messy ponytail as her starting team gathered into a huddle. "No more easy shots, we can't spare anymore tonight; I want to win this game and qualify for Championships, we've beat them once and we can sure as hell do it again,"

Jasper pulled out her mouth piece, which was just used to keep her from getting technical's. "We're already taking ball out so Lars will do that and Amethyst will try to get open, then she'll pass the ball to me at the half court line," The larger girl looked at the team captain. "Then I'll pass it to Ruby, you should stand at the three line,"

Ruby nodded, glancing at Sadie. "Make sure you're open at the baseline just in case I don't have the shot,"

"Yeah okay," Sadie nodded. "But you've got this Ruby, one more point away until you reach a thousand,"

Ruby held her fist in the air. "Family on three; one, two, three—"

"Family!" The others shouted running back onto the court and tossing their water bottles at the benched players who were talking amongst themselves.

Lars grabbed the ball from the ref and took it out, tossing it directly to Jasper once the official blew the whistle and watched as the larger girl threw the ball over head and towards Amethyst at half court.

Amethyst caught it, pivoting and crossing her man before taking two dribbles and chest passing the ball to Ruby at the three.

Centi ran from where she was guarding Sadie to throw her hand in the air, trying to block Ruby's shot. The curly haired girl, feet already set, looked through the green girls fingers and shot the ball; leaving her hand in the air as she slowly back away.

The crowd erupted into a loud cheer as the ball made it into the net, running out the clock.

"Yeah, Ruby!" Peridot cheered, holding Steven on her lap with Lapis by her side.

Lapis clapped her hands, grinning. "One day you'll be playing out there too Steven," She ran her hands through the infants thick curls.

"What about you Connie?" Rose asked from where she was sitting beside Pearl, who hadn't been speaking much. "You think you'll play basketball when you're in high school?"

The younger girl shook her head. "I'm not into sports; I'm more into music and maybe performing."

"Look, the balloons are dropping," Sapphire mumbled from her spot on the other side of Pearl.

Pearl smiled softly as she watched Steven reach out for the bright objects, wiggling around in Peridot's lap.

"Congratulations to Ruby Harris for scoring her one thousand points, do you have any remarks?" Coach Miller, Sadie's mom, asked as she handed the captain the microphone.

Jasper and Amethyst nodded their heads eagerly; even Sadie gave her thumbs up sign with a cheeky smile.

"I can't believe I'm doing this…" Ruby whispered to herself as she gently took the microphone from her coach. "…uhm, just like to say thanks to my team and coach—"

Scarlet jumped up from her seat. "Yeah, go gummy bear!"

"…anyway," Ruby mumbled, feeling the vein in her head twitch at her mother's ability to embarrass her. "But there is one person who has been there for me since day one, someone who always supports me no matter what and I just want to take this moment to ask her a special question,"

The curly haired girl gestured with the hand behind her back and suddenly Jasper, Amethyst, Sadie and Lars were moving into position. They held up a long poster decorated with baseballs and ballet symbols, followed by small hearts (curtsy of Sadie).

Ruby took a deep breath, a bright flush on her cheeks. "…Will you do me the honor of being my prom date, Sapph? There isn't anyone else who I'd rather go with," She confessed.

Rose squealed, pushing her blushing friend out of her seat while Pearl smiled softly and also nudged her friend.

"About time," Pearl mumbled, leaning her face on the palm of her hand with a soft smile.

Cynthia watched from the other side of the court as a short girl, probably her height, with breath taking long blue hair run into Ruby for an embrace. The older girl was wearing a white sweatshirt, light brown skinny jeans and white sneakers.

Centi looked away when Ruby pulled the attractive girl into a kiss, causing the crowd to cheer louder.

* * *

Ruby threw her bag over her shoulder, her other arm wrapped around Sapphire's waist. "Did you enjoy the game?"

Sapphire wrapped her arms around the taller girl's shoulders. "Yeah it was great, as always. When is the next one?"

"A week from now," Jasper said, hand in hand with Lapis. "Some team from Keystone. I'll see you love birds later, we're going to go head home and get some sleep but maybe we'll have a get together tomorrow at your place?"

Ruby shrugged. "I'll think about it, but only because we're all in the same place for once; you two get home safe,"

"We will," Jasper nodded.

Lapis waved. "Congratulations again Ruby,"

"Thanks Lazuli," The curly haired girl mumbled, looking back down at her girlfriend. "So you're staying at my place, right? My mom won't be back until eleven tomorrow,"

Sapphire bit her lower lip. "About that, I hope this isn't a problem but I kind of promised Rose that we'd watch Steven for the night and bring him back early in the morning. But only because I know they're tired and need some rest, I'm sorry if I over mph—"

Ruby cut the older girl off with a soft press of her lips, she grinned into the kiss. "You're amazing, I love you, of course it's okay. I was going to suggest the same thing; I was worried you'd say no,"

Sapphire grinned. "Are you kidding? I haven't seen you or Steven in months, plus I can use this time to get him to learn my name!"

"Wha?" Ruby frowned, confused as her girlfriend slipped out of her grasp and took Steven from Rose. "I'll take that, Q," She quickly grabbed the infants bag from Rose, placing it on her other shoulder.

"Thanks again you two," Rose smiled gratefully. "This means so much to me,"

Sapphire held Steven on her hip, smiling. "No problem, do you need a ride back home?"

"No need ice queen, Pearl and I are taking her back in my car," Amethyst announced, leaning against the skinny girl beside her.

Ruby shrugged. "Alright, let's go Sapph,"

Steven kicked his feet, giggling. "Sap-py!"

The long haired girl smiled brightly, pointing at a confused Ruby. "Aha! In your face!"

Ruby frowned, looking at Rose who wasn't trying to hold back her laughter. "Man," She shook her head.

"You're gone for five months…"

* * *

 **Sorry for not updating in forever but I'm busy with track season and now I'm doing it in college so things are picking up. I have about a month and a half off for summer and I'll try to finish this story before that.**

 **Might update some other stories tonight if I have time, in the meantime I'll see you hopefully whenever I get around to writing.**


	5. Where's the Silver Lining?

**Okay, I'm so sorry for the delay but I've been stuck a little. I decided to write another story about their future that sort of goes off from this one chapter. So if you've read _A Glimpse_ and get a feeling of déjà then it's because I took this part of _this_ story and put it into that one.**

 **Again, so sorry for not updating but I hope this makes up for it a little. I feel like this chapter was a little slow but it's better than nothing. Enjoy and let me know what you think.**

* * *

 **Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 5: _Where's the Silver Lining?_**

It was nine thirty when the front door was clumsily slammed open by the kicking of a young teen with thick curly hair which was pulled into a messy ponytail. She grunted under her breath as she barely managed to carry a weighted baby bag on her left shoulder, three medium sized stuffed animals under her armpits and one barely hanging in her mouth.

"How many toys does this kid need," She mumbled, sighing heavily as she dropped the toys on her couch and set the bag on the living room table. "…tell me again why we agreed to watch Steven for Rose?" She asked tiredly, eyes bloodshot from the consistent crying Steven managed on the thirty minute drive from the school to her house.

Her girlfriend smiled softly, her own eyes dim with tiredness that Ruby could see clear as day despite the heavy bangs blocking them. "Ruby, we both know things have been hard for them since Steven was born. Greg works two jobs and Rose has to balance school, they could really use a break,"

"I know, you're right," Ruby replied, closing the door for the shorter girl before following her to the couch. "But maybe we are way over our head, Steven is only eleven months old and it's obvious he misses Rose. If my mom was here then I'd ask her for help but she isn't going to be back until tomorrow morning,"

Sapphire carefully sat down on the couch, resting Steven on her lap. "Where is she?" She asked, barely paying attention as she tried to keep her hair out of his mouth.

Too busy paying attention to the baby, Sapphire didn't notice the dark flush on Ruby's face. "…she's—you know, out and about meeting people and such—don't worry about it," She shrugged it off calmly, silently wishing the girl wouldn't want to question it more.

Ruby didn't want to tell her girlfriend that her mother basically gave her blessing for them to have sex in the house while she was out. For some reason she knew Sapphire would never let her live it down.

"Eww," Sapphire made a face.

The younger girl swallowed nervously. "W-what?"

Sapphire pulled Steven away as if he were contagious. "He really smells," The college student's frown deepened when Ruby placed a hand under Steven's bottom. "What are you doing?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Checking if he's wet," Ruby mumbled as if it were obvious, blindly grabbing his baby bag and pulling out a diaper along with wipes and powder. "Do you mind or do you want me to change him?"

Sapphire clumsily handed him over; she watched in awe as Ruby carefully draped him over her lap and begun to unbutton his overalls. "…I've never—changed a diaper before or babysat an infant none the less,"

Ruby's smile was nothing but supportive. "I was terrible at it when I first started, Connie," She explained when she noticed Sapphire's confusion. "She's my cousin and when she was younger I'd go over to her house and change a few diapers here and there. That's why we're so close, I basically watched her grow up; or should I say, I _am_ watching her grow up."

"Aside from the smell, it's easy enough," Ruby said, tossing the filthy diaper into a plastic bag before pulling Steven's clothes back on. "Just wipe, clean, powder and then put a fresh one on," She handed him back over to the apprehensive college student, she grinned. "There, is that better baby?"

Steven giggled, kicking his feet happily as he grabbed the basketball player's face. "Ru—bee!"

Sapphire smiled softly, glancing at the clock on the living room wall. "It's ten o'clock, should we try and put him to sleep?"

"Not yet," Ruby shook her head, digging into the bag again. "Rose told me that he didn't eat much at the game so we should at least fill him with something," She held up a bottle of baby food, banana flavored. "Do you want to try?"

Sapphire nodded sheepishly. "S-sure,"

"Okay," Ruby smiled softly, placing a small towel over Sapphire's left shoulder. "That's for after, just in case you need to burp him," She explained, placing a bib on the eleven month old. "Here," She then handed Sapphire the food and spoon.

Steven made a face at the first taste and immediately spit it out; Sapphire shuddered as she watched the slime fall from his mouth and onto his chest. "Oh no," She called it at the first tear in his eyes before Steven cried out, struggling to get away from the spoon. "I can't do this," Sapphire mumbled, handing the child over to Ruby.

"Sapph—" Ruby began, gently swaying to and fro in order to quiet him down.

"I'm going to get a drink," Sapphire said, standing up from the coach and walking into the kitchen. "…damn," She whispered under her breath angrily, tossing the towel on her shoulder down to the floor as she slammed her palms down on the granite counter.

She wasn't used to this; sure she loved Steven, adored him, but she isn't the children type. It just isn't in her nature to have that nurturing ability, not the way Ruby apparently does. While her girlfriend took the time to babysit relatives Sapphire found herself either at ballet practice or working on school related activities.

She wanted to learn but it seemed like whenever she tried things just blew up in her face.

"…I am not having children when I'm older," Sapphire mumbled under her breath. "No way,"

Ruby's voice almost startled her. "Well, my mother wants grand children so you're going to have to make some compromises," She teased, walking into the kitchen with a calm Steven on her right hip. "…seriously though, you shouldn't say stuff like that,"

"I'm not good at this," Sapphire admitted, leaning on the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. "I'll never—"

Ruby stopped her. "Hey, it's fine. You're in college working on your education and ballet career, you shouldn't even be thinking about children; let alone be good at caring for them—"

"But you are, and you're only in High School." Sapphire interrupted. "…I just don't see myself doing this," She motioned to Steven who in return reached out for her, causing her heart to ache.

She refused to close the gap with him, fearing that she'd only make things worse.

Ruby frowned. "I thought you were dying to see Steven, but now that we actually have him you're backing away,"

When Sapphire didn't say anything she sighed.

"How about you go to bed early, you must be tired from the drive up here and all," Ruby tried, pressing a soft kiss on Sapphire's cheek. "I'll just get Steven to sleep, I have my old crib in another room he can sleep in…you just, relax," She offered, rubbing her arm softly before walking back into the living room.

"Alright," Sapphire sighed, not in the mood to argue as she jogged up the stairs and walked into Ruby's room.

The college student wasted no time in kicking her shoes off and slipping into the bed. Sapphire set an alarm for the morning and tossed her phone on the table beside her.

She pulled the sheets over her head and knocked out without another thought.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride guys," Rose smiled thankfully from the backseat of Pearl's car.

Amethyst lowered the radio to give her friend a welcoming grin. "Don't worry about it Rosie, we couldn't let you walk all the way home li—"

"Why couldn't Greg drive you home?" Pearl spoke over her girlfriend, earning a strange look from the purple girl. "He still has that, _van_ , doesn't he?" She looked at the thick girl through her rear view mirror.

Rose nodded stiffly. "He's working tonight so we can be home alone later since Ruby and Sapphire are watching Steven until tomorrow afternoon,"

"Oh yeah," Amethyst turned around snickering. "Are they going to go bring Steven with them to see Mrs. Fields? I have to see the look on her face when she—"

The pink woman shook her head quickly but couldn't stop the smile rising on her face. "Although that would be hilarious, I'm picking him up before that."

"Darn," Amethyst sighed.

Rose sheepishly glanced at the driver; she fiddled with her fingers nervously. "…this is the first time in a while, and might be the only time until prom, that we are all together again. Ruby and Sapphire won't be at her mother's house long, I was thinking we could all meet up at Jasper's house and have a small get together,"

"Oh cool, that sounds—" Amethyst began but was stopped.

Pearl hummed, once again ignoring Amethyst's gaze. "We'll be there,"

"Okay," Rose took the hint, opening the door before getting out quickly. "Thanks again,"

They watched their chubby friend quickly walk to her steps and let herself inside. Once everything seemed fine, the skinny girl drove off of the property and made her way towards the hotel she was staying at.

Amethyst leaned her head against the window. "…why are you treating her like that? Are you still pissed off about the baby thing, because if you are then you need to get over it; Steven is awesome."

"Well, _you_ need to watch who you're talking to," Pearl said, a strange spark in her eyes that made the purple girl gulp. "Tell your mother that you're staying with Ruby and Jasper tonight, you're coming to my hotel with me," She straight out commanded her, not even giving her a choice.

The purple girl huffed, clenching her phone in her hand as they stopped at a red light. "What if I say no? I'm really tired from the game and to be honest I'm not really in the mood for this. Take me home P," She shoved the wandering hand on her thigh away with a grunt. "I'm serious; I'm not feeling this right now,"

"I haven't seen you in weeks, Ame," Pearl reminded.

Amethyst snapped. "Whose fault is that? I know your ballet crew has been in town for a show across town, and you couldn't even come to visit me once. What's going on with you?"

Pearl rolled her eyes, driving off when the light turned green. "Nothing is—"

"Damn it Pearl, don't lie to me, don't you ever lie to me!" Amethyst shouted. "You never reach out to see me unless you need something, like I'm not you're girlfriend but a burden. You still talk to Sapphire but you've completely alienated Rose and the rest of us, you could barely look at Steven tonight."

Amethyst shook her head. "What happened to you, you're not the same person I feel in love with?"

Pearl shoved away the warm feeling she felt in her heart and masked herself. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Just take me home, actually just drop me off here," Amethyst said, grabbing her sports bag and phone from between her legs. "My place is only a block away."

Pearl locked the doors, frowning. "I'll drop you off, I'm sure you can bare at least five more seconds with me," She mumbled, speeding up in order to reach her girlfriend's house before she decided to jump out.

"Well I can't, I honestly feel sick right now," Amethyst shoved the door open and jumped out. "…I really wanted this to work, I thought you were the one and I know it's crazy but even after all of this I still know the old Pearl is in there. So you better wake her ass up before you lose the only person willing to put up with your shit,"

Pearl flinched when the door was slammed in her face.

Her light cool eyes watched the purple girl run into her house, without look back. Pearl sighed angrily and sped off into the night. She turned the music up just when tears began to fall loud a flood.

"Fuck her," Pearl wiped her face on the back of her arm, driving with one hand. "Fuck Rose," She sniffed, so angry and distraught that she ran a stop sign. "Fuck it…fuck them—"

And fuck the fact that she didn't see the car speeding towards her, too lost in her feelings.

* * *

Jasper growled, wiping the blood off of the swimmer's face with a washcloth. "Lapis, you can't keep letting him hit you like this. I'm going to the police—"

"Please don't, you'll only make things worse," Lapis begged, wincing at the hot rag being shoved onto the wound just below her eye. "…then my mother and I will be alone, she's worked hard to become a successful business woman and I don't want to place any more burdens on her."

"Her job already stresses her out as it is, being the only woman in such a huge cooperation," Lapis sighed.

The orange girl shook her head from where she was sitting on the bed with her girlfriend. "If he does this one more time then I'm taking care of this, your mother can provide for both of you. Then you two can get a house far away from this bastard."

Lapis lowered her head, she nodded. "…fine,"

"I just, I hate seeing him smack on you like this," Jasper narrowed her eyes. "It isn't right,"

Lapis whispered softly to herself. "…it was my fault anyway, it's always my fault."

The larger girl didn't hear the swimmer as she continued to clean the injury to prevent infection.

* * *

A few hours later Sapphire was awoken by footsteps across the hall. She opened her bright blue eyes and looked around in the darkness, she reached out beside her but Ruby wasn't in bed with her.

Sapphire let out a sigh and crawled out of bed carefully, mindful to not to fall over anything as she walked outside the room. Her eyes adjusted to the dim lighted hallway as she headed towards the room three doors down. Due to the light peeking out from underneath, she only assumed that Ruby was in there.

"We, are the crystal gems,"

Sapphire stopped to lean against the doorframe as she heard Ruby's voice raise an octave as her girlfriend sung to Steven.

Ruby smiled as Steven's eyes brightened up and he reached for her face. "We'll always save the day," She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, looking up when the door creaked. "…hey, I thought you were asleep,"

"I heard your footsteps," Sapphire confessed, taking a seat beside the basketball player on the sofa. "What song were you singing?" She asked.

Ruby snickered. "This song Rose and Greg have been working on, just for Steven. They told me most of it, and about how one verse of it will get him to sleep. It's about our friends, you know,"

"How so?" Sapphire raised an eyebrow.

The red girl shrugged. "We all have names that are gem stones. Thus, Crystal Gems. Plus, no matter what happens, one of us always saves the day by making sure our friends are okay; like one big nuclear family."

"Hearing you sing this reminded me that you still owe me a duet from last Christmas," Sapphire quirked an eyebrow when the red girl chuckled softly. "Maybe at the next party,"

Ruby shrugged, brushing Steven's curly hair back. "…everyone is busy doing their own thing. But maybe I'll hop on stage during prom," She smiled softly, licking her lips before she leaned closer to the older girl with a heavy sigh. "Do you want to hold him?"

Sapphire shook her head worriedly. "I don't want to scare him again, he's so relaxed right now a—"

"Just, try again," Ruby said softly, getting a shy nod from Sapphire as she handed Steven over.

Ruby grinned, tickling the infants' feet. "I don't understand, you were really good with Steven earlier at the game and apparently at Rose's house," She brought her stark red eyes up to meet bright blue. "What makes now any different?"

Sapphire held him as if he were a bomb. "…it's different from seeing him for five minutes to having to care for him all day. I can do the holding, pretend I know what I'm doing but I just realized now that it's harder than it looks," She whispered.

"I offered to watch him because my friends needed a break and I thought I could—"

Ruby gave her a look. "You can handle it, it just takes practice. _We_ will get there one day,"

Sapphire flushed, unintentionally pulling Steven closer to rest his head on her chest. "What, were you serious about wanting a child when you're older?" Her eyes went wide and her palms grew sweaty.

Everything seemed to be moving so fast.

"I was, but not right now. I'm talking about way into the future when I have a good paying job, then I'd settle down and have a kid," Ruby confessed, unashamed. "A daughter to be exact," Sapphire's expression softened. "I'd teach her how to play baseball and basketball just like my father taught me,"

Sapphire smiled.

Ruby continued. "I would probably spoil her rotten though, she'd be my little queen…I just always pictured myself having a family, don't you?"

"Not until now," Sapphire said, looking down at the sleeping bundle of joy in her arms. "…but maybe, a girl wouldn't be so bad. I could teach her how to play the piano and she'd come with me to my ballet studio," Her eyes sparkled at all the things they could share together.

Ruby laughed softly. "Sorry to get serious all of a sudden but I've had some time to think about my future…and I really want you to be a part of it,"

"And I want you to be a part of mine," Sapphire replied without missing a beat.

Before the red girl could reply she felt her phone vibrate in the back of her pocket, she held a finger up to excuse herself. "Why is Amethyst calling me so early in the morning," She moved away from the couch to walk on the rug, not wanting to disturb Steven.

"Whoa, calm down," Ruby said, making Sapphire to look up curiously. "Just—take a deep breath and repeat that? You're talking way too fast," She gasped. "Shoot, are you serious?"

Sapphire placed Steven carefully into the crib, before walking up behind her girlfriend. She could hear Amethyst shout _'Why would I joke about this!'_ over the line.

Ruby winced, covering her ringing ears. "Okay, you're right, I'm sorry. Just text me the address and I'll meet you there, call her family and Jasper as well as the others," She mumbled something else before she hung up, sighing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Sapphire asked worriedly, watching her girlfriend struggle to pull her sneakers back on.

"It's Pearl," Ruby licked her lips. "She got into a car crash."


	6. Good People

**I was bored so I decided to give you guys this small chapter that leads to some heavy stuff in the future; I'll try to update _A Glimpse_ later this week. But, the new episode with Pearl singing was awesome and it really helped us get into why she's held this grudge with Greg for so long.**

 **Therefore, I couldn't resist making this chapter about her although it was going to be anyway despite how the episode went.**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and please let me know what you think.**

* * *

 **Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 6: _Good People_**

Ruby walked as fast as she could with the eleven month old clutching onto her shoulders as the automatic doors opened in the Beach City Emergency Hospital Center. Opposed to television shows and movies, the building was somewhat deserted; which worked in their favor when they reached the front desk. The woman with short black hair seemed almost bored; Ruby could have sworn she saw the flicker of solitaire in her glasses.

If the situation were better she would have addressed it, made a joke. But now was not the time.

"We're here for—" Sapphire began very much out of breath, leaning a hand against the desk; the heavy jacket that she plucked from her girlfriend's closet literally engulfing her. "…f-for Pearl Stewarts, we got a call that she was in a car crash,"

The nurse clicked her teeth, her computer mouse moved around quickly. "She's on the third floor, no visitors are allowed in at this time but you are welcome to stay in the waiting area. The elevators are to your—"

"Rub's, is Pearl okay!" Jasper's voice called out from behind them, when they looked back they could see the large girl storming inside so fast that she barely waited for the doors to open; Ruby couldn't even find it in herself to laugh or take a picture.

The nurse could apparently, as she snickered and gave them an amused look. "Friends of yours?"

"Don't worry about," Ruby growled, not in the mood. "Third floor right, what room is she in?"

'Becky' as it said on her nametag, stiffened up. "Y-yes, she's in room 105,"

"She's upstairs guys, we have to take the elevator," Ruby heard Sapphire say to the couple who had just barged in. "She can't have visitors but we can wait outside in the hall," She said, walking towards the trio of elevators and clicking the top arrow.

Since they were most likely the only ones at the hospital at four in the morning, the doors opened quickly. Jasper and Lapis followed the smaller couple in and leaned on the walls near the corner.

"…do," Jasper began, biting her lower lip. "Do they know what caused it?"

Ruby shook her head, rocking Steven slowly to keep him from waking up. "…she's still in surgery, they aren't telling us anything right now," She whispered, avoiding their gaze by watching the numbers go by.

As they reached the third floor with a ding, the doors opened and the first thing they noticed was Amethyst sitting in a single chair. The purple girls face was in her hands as Rose sat beside her, rubbing her back comfortingly and whispering softly. Greg was surprisingly there as well, but had decided to give them some space by distancing himself on the other side of the room.

He and Pearl didn't have the best track record together.

"Hey," Jasper said softly, stirring Amethyst to look up. "…you look like shit," She said, all jokes aside as she took in her friend's blood shot eyes and frazzled hair.

Amethyst shook her head, jamming her face back into her hands with a muffled. "S-shut up,"

Rose gladly made room for the two bestfriends who walked over to comfort their friend. Jasper took Rose's seat while Ruby handed Steven over to Greg and make a spot for herself on Amethyst's other side.

Sapphire, without even having to look at the signal her girlfriend gave her, sighed. "Hey, you've all been here for hours. Let's give them some space while we go grab some coffee for them or some snacks from the vending machine," She said lowly, not wanting to disturb Amethyst.

Greg was quick to bounce up and shoot for the exit, tired of the thick tension in the room. Rose and Lapis soon followed and Sapphire slowly trailed behind them, closing the metal door behind her.

Amethyst pulled her head up, rubbing her chubby face as she looked off into space. "…it's my fault," Left her mouth, void of emotion just as her usually bright eyes seemed dim; dark almost.

"Why would you say something like that—" Jasper tried to calm her down.

But Amethyst went on, like she didn't even hear her. "…it's my fault, I should have went with her to the hotel instead of arguing and storming out like that," She whispered as if she were talking to herself, not acknowledging their presence. "The last thing I said to her was that I couldn't stand to be around her for even five seconds…" She chuckled darkly and shook her head.

"It should have been me,"

Jasper frowned. "Stop saying stuff like that, it's not your fault—"

"Pearl is one of the safest drivers I know, how can she just miss a stop sign," Amethyst mumbled coldly, glaring at the dirt beneath her brown boots. "…that could only happen if something was blocking her vision, like the tears she shed for me acting like an immature brat. I bet she doesn't even want to see me,"

Jasper shook her head, trying to reassure the purple girl. "She does—"

"Did you know, that for alternate emergency number it isn't even her parents," Amethyst began her rant, Jasper could see Ruby put her head down in the corner of her eye. "It's sure as hell not my number," She said with a frown, looking Jasper in the eye with an expression that could kill. "…no, it's Rose fucking Quartz,"

Ruby winced even though she saw it coming and kept her head down as if she were the one being scolded at.

Jasper bit her lower lip, not expecting it. "W-well maybe she hadn't gotten a chance to change it, she and Rose were pretty close friends," She stuttered towards the end, not knowing how to define their strange relationship.

"We've been together for over a year, and being an athlete I'm sure she's at the hospital more than once for sprains or tears. So, based on that small thought, I'm sure they've asked if she wanted to update her information," Amethyst said, her voice lacking that emotion.

Jasper tried again. "That doesn't mean she doesn't care—"

"It hurt," Amethyst talked over her again, they weren't even sure if she was listening to a word they had said all morning. "It hurt that I had to get a call from Rose telling me that Pearl got into a car crash, I don't even feel like her girlfriend. Hell, she's been holding a grudge on Rose but she still trusts her with her life,"

Amethyst scoffed. "I've done terrible things to her in the past, I know that, but at least I've been faithful and loving in this past year. And the fact that a woman she claims not to have feelings for and resents her for whatever happened in the past; still has more of her trust than I do…"

"And it sucks," Amethyst growled, clenching and unclenching her hands. "It sucks that Rose is such a nice person, helping me calm down and being so sweet; sickly so. It sucks because I love her son to death and I already see so much of her inside him, which isn't even a bad thing,"

Ruby glanced over for the first time since the purple girls' outburst to see a soft smile.

"Rose is such a sweet person," Amethyst sighed. "…and I want to hate her but I can't, and I feel like this is all my fault—"

Jasper huffed, losing her drive to calm the girl down when she kept saying things like that. "Amethyst it—"

"I feel like this is my fault," Amethyst repeated, daring Jasper to say another word. "And I hate myself for being stuck between begging for Pearl's forgiveness and storming in there to curse her out for giving me all these mixed signals. It feels like this past year has been a waste of time," She confessed.

Ruby shrugged, speaking for the first time. "So what if it was, who cares if it was a waste of time?"

"Dude," Jasper frowned. "We're supposed to be building her up and bringing her down,"

The red girl scratched her head, another shrug. "Well she's right. Pearl led her on as if she were completely over her ex, the sex was fun while she was in high school but then she goes away to college and you barely see each other." She said logically. "You're repeatedly telling yourself that the girl you feel in love with is in there somewhere. You're still holding on to that and to be honest, if you really thought it was all waste of time then you and I both know you wouldn't be here."

"Everything you two felt, shared, was real," Ruby said softly, meeting bloodshot eyes. "You can't let go because you love her and you're just starting to realize that it isn't as easy as it looks. Your mind is telling you to leave but your heart, that asshole, is telling you to risk everything and jump right in,"

Ruby swallowed, relating to past experiences. "…it's not easy, nobody is perfect. We're going to make a lot of mistakes, and then some more, we just need to find the right person who is going to tolerate our shit."

"It's so hard," Amethyst broke down, clenching her eyes closed as she let Ruby pull her into an embrace. "…w-why, why does…it, h-hurt so bad," She whimpered in between sobs.

Ruby smiled weakly, rubbing her friends back softly. "…everything worth it is a little painful,"

Jasper wrapped her own arm around the purple girl, giving Ruby a grateful nod. "Love may hurt and crush you, but I promise that Ruby and I will always be around to pick up the pieces," She mumbled, not wanting anyone to hear her being all cheesy.

"Oh gr-gross," Amethyst laughed weakly. "…leave the pe-pep talks to, R-ruby,"

* * *

Sapphire and the others returned fifteen minutes later. By then Amethyst had wiped away her tears and had gratefully accepted the much needed hot coffee from Lapis. Rose and the others sat on the opposite row of chairs across from the trio.

"Peridot sends her best," Lapis said, looking down at her phone to read the message. "She says that she would have come but she's babysitting Connie for the night, she's staying over at her house, and she didn't want to make her worry or bring her out so late,"

Ruby bit her lower lip, feeling the tension begin to stir so she tried to change the subject. "Did anyone hear back from her parents or—"

"You still have her number?" Jasper frowned, catching Lapis's blue eyes as they met her orange ones. "And you still text her,"

Lapis shrugged, as if she and Peridot hadn't been involved sexually in the past. "Yeah, we're still friends I don't see why I can't—you've slept with her too if that's the problem," She frowned.

Ruby had to stifle a laugh when Rose, only she would, covered baby Steven's ears and whispered. "Language,"

"It doesn't matter if we were both fu—having intercourse with her at some point," Jasper corrected herself for Rose's benefit. "You freak out whenever I so much as stay out late with Ruby and Amethyst, like we're having some sort of three some,"

Lapis quirked an eyebrow. "Are you?"

"Psh," Sapphire choked on her orange juice and broke out into a small coughing fit from beside Greg. "…bad images in my head," She groaned, trying to calm herself down by only picturing the one person she liked to see naked. "Much better,"

Jasper's face turned red, she was outraged. "No, we're not! They're my best friends; they're like sisters to me,"

"Right," Lapis drawled out with a finger to her chin. "Like I'm supposed to believe all of those sleepovers were just sleepovers,"

Ruby's eyes couldn't have been more wide as she whispered a "Wow." To the purple girl next to her.

Amethyst could only nod, the funny yet frightening banter keeping her mind off of Pearl and the accident. "And I thought I had problems," She mumbled, nudging the red girl in the stomach. "Look at Rose's face,"

Ruby couldn't stop the laughter as Rose looked between Jasper, then her and Amethyst with a blush on her face; she looked scared for her life.

"Excuse me," Before Jasper could make a comeback, a nurse stepped out of the room Pearl was staying in. "Are any of you related to Miss Stewarts?"

They all stood up but Rose was the one to answer. "No, just really close friends, and her parents are out of town right now,"

"How is she?" Amethyst asked hurriedly.

The nurse smiled softly. "She is alive, which is all that matters right now,"

"Can we see her?" Amethyst asked, ready to run through the doors.

"I have to ask her first," The nurse held up a finger and excused herself. "Let me speak to her; only two of you can be there at a time,"

* * *

Pearl starred up at the white ceiling silently, her head was wrapped in bandages as it rested on the pillow. Small cuts scattered her face, some of them leading down to her neck but other than that she seemed fine; the rest of her body was covered by a light purple blanket.

The only sound she could hear was the redundant beeping in the room.

"Miss Stewarts," The nurse called out to her but Pearl didn't look her way, eyes focused ahead. "You have a large group of people outside claiming to be your friends and they want to speak with you, only two of them are allowed in at a time. Any requests?"

Pearl swallowed, trying to grasp her words. "…S-sapphire and Am-amethyst,"

"Of course," The nurse said before walking out.

It wasn't more than five seconds later did Sapphire slowly open the door with a shaky smile. Pearl turned her head to the left to greet her, barely noticing the purple girl walk in to lean against the wall with her arms crossed.

Sapphire took a seat on a nearby stool and pulled it close enough to Pearl's bed. "Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked softly.

"Pain," Pearl whispered, blinking quickly. "I feel a lot of pain,"

Sapphire smiled softly. "The drugs must be warring off; it's good that you feel something actually,"

"It's not just physical," Pearl confessed, looking towards the distant girl with bloodshot eyes. "I-I'm sor—"

Amethyst held a hand up. "Just shut up, don't apologize, it was my fault. I shouldn't have stormed out like that,"

"You had a reason to," Pearl whispered, closing her eyes when her head began to spin. "I was treating Rose like a criminal, I started avoiding you—"

"But why?" Amethyst begged, not moving from her spot near the wall. "…why did you grow distant? Is it because you don't want to be seen with a high schooler—"

Pearl shook her head. "Of course not, I could care less what people thought. It's just—I was gone for so long with ballet and we talked on the phone sometimes but, I felt like I didn't know you anymore. I felt like you had become a brand new person with different interests so I kept away before you could dump me on the phone or something—"

"I wouldn't do that," Amethyst would have joked and said _over the phone_ but now wasn't the time. "…and I haven't changed at all, ask Sapphire,"

The college student shrugged, feeling slightly awkward; why was she always put in the middle of things like this?

"I meant it when I said I love you," Amethyst dared to step closer. "And a wise person told me, just a few minutes ago, that love hurts. And it only hurts because anything worth it is painful," She reached the other side of the bed and brushed her thumb over Pearl's cheek. "…please don't push my away again,"

Pearl nodded, blinking away tears. "I won't, not anymore, I promise." She licked her lips. "And I'm sorry about my emergency contact number, I guess I wasn't ready to let go yet and—"

"You don't have to let go of Rose or your feelings for her," Amethyst confessed, smiling weakly. "She's an amazing friend and I don't want you to forget that, the way she made you feel; but I want to do that for you. I know I can't ever replace her but I'll do my best to make you happy,"

Sapphire smiled softly, watching as Pearl grabbed the hand attached to her face and held it tighter.

"Excuse me," The same nurse from before popped her head in, smiling at the tender moment. "Can I..?" She gestured to the third wheel.

Sapphire gratefully followed her outside the hall; she crossed her arms and leaned on the wall. "Is there a problem?" She asked softly.

"We were running some tests on Pearl to make sure that she was okay; basic things like concussion test, checking for internal bleeding and a few x-rays," She pulled out an x-ray sheet and turned it to face Sapphire who frowned. "This is an x-ray of her Tibia or her shinbone,"

Sapphire watched as the nurse pointed to the slimmer bone with her finger. "Somehow during the crash, she fractured it. She doesn't feel it now because she is under a lot of pain killers but she will soon and she will not be able to walk on it anytime soon,"

"But she's a ballerina," Sapphire got out, sighing heavily as she observed the image. "She has a show next week—"

The nurse held her hand up. "I know, but I'd rather her miss one show and then heal up to get ready for future ones. The fracture, lucky her, is one of the best ones she can get. She has a stable fracture, meaning the broken ends of her bone are lined up correctly which is good."

"If they were displaced, or had broken through her skin, things would have been much more serious. She would have needed surgery if that was the case,"

Sapphire nodded, recalling everything her teacher had taught her in anatomy. "Okay, so how long is thing going to take for her to make a full recovery?"

"Four months with physical therapy and weight training, maybe six just to be safe since she's doing ballet," The nurse confessed. "She'll stay here until she signs herself out, leave in a wheel chair and work her way up to crutches, I'll prescribe some pain killers as well,"

"But overall she should just focus on resting the leg right now before she makes the damage worse," The nurse took the x-ray back. "I just wanted to let you know first so you could tell your friends about the situation, I'm going to tell Pearl now and I feel like you wouldn't want to be in there for that," She gave her a soft look.

Sapphire nodded stiffly, walking past the nurse and towards the hall where her friends were.

* * *

"How is she?" Rose asked, moving closer along with the others.

Sapphire let herself be wrapped under the red girl's strong arm, she sighed. "She's alive, face is a bit bruised and I think she has a slight concussion. But other than that," She shrugged.

"What aren't you telling us?" Lapis asked, examining the way Sapphire avoided their gaze.

The ballerina shook her head, looking down at her feet. "She sort of, fractured her Tibia during the crash and it is going to take over six months to heal," She licked her dry lips. "Amethyst is in there now while the nurse tells her the news,"

"But she has a recital next week," Ruby whispered, not imagining how terrible it must be to have the one thing you love be taken from you. "…that's her passion, she was made for it," She huffed angrily.

Rose leaned into Greg, hand covering her mouth. "She's going to be devastated,"

"And we're going to be there for her," Jasper said confidently as she tried to cheer everyone up. "…right?"

Ruby shook her head. "We are, we will be but it's going to be hard. Pearl is going to push us away a hundred times before she realizes we're trying to help."

"Why would she do that?" Jasper frowned.

"How would you feel if you got injured and couldn't play at our finals game next week?" Ruby muttered, clenching her fist at her side as everyone looked down. "You lose your identity during the months of rehabilitation, you keep looking through the ways you could have prevented it and worst of all; you imagine how it could have been different,"

Sapphire nodded, not wanting to imagine what her friend was about to go through. "Pearl's heart lies within ballet, that's how she expresses herself and that's where she shines the brightest,"

"And now she's lost it," Rose whispered, shaking her head as she muttered a soft;

"Why do the bad things always happen to the good people?"


	7. Moms

**I'm back with another update guys. Sorry for the wait but the first week of college has been an emotional roller coaster, I'm planning to write a story based on my experience here but it will be told from Ruby's perspective. Just to give you a taste of what to expect when you reach college and how to cope.**

 **I've only been here a week so my writing skills haven't improved that much but I hope you enjoy. Also, a question that was asked a long time ago during the start of this series; are they gems? No, they are not gems they are just humans in this story but I left their skin colors the same.**

* * *

 **PREVIOUSLY ON GOING THE DISTANCE:** _Pearl and Amethyst got into an argument which caused a distraught Pearl to run a stop sign, ending herself up in the hospital with an injury that could ruin her ballet career. Sapphire invites Ruby to a dinner with her parents and meanwhile Jasper contemplates wither her relationship with Lapis is stable._ **(Because I know I've been gone a while and you all probably need a debriefing)**

* * *

 **Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 7: _Moms_**

Ruby tapped her fingers on the stirring wheel when her grey car came to a stop as the light turned red; she glanced over at her girlfriend beside her. Sapphire was wearing a light green fur coat, black jeans, brown boots that had white socks peeking out and a white beanie atop her wavy head. The younger girl was dressed in her thick varsity jacket, a white long sleeved shirt beneath, grey baggy sweatpants and brown boots as well; her hair was pulled back into a pony tail but peeked out under her black backwards hat.

The first thing her girlfriend did when she got into the car was turn the heat on full blast. Basketball season was almost over and spring would slowly be approaching; they just had to make it through these snow storms.

"Are you sure you want me to come with you?" Ruby asked, turning her eyes back to the road and pressing on the gas softly; the roads were slippery. "Your mother isn't really a fan of me, and it's really not a big deal if you just want me to drop you off; I can go back and keep Amethyst company," She suggested softly.

Her mind momentarily drifted off to her best friend who seemed to be suffering just as much as Pearl, if not more. Ruby knew it killed Amethyst to see Pearl this way, honestly if she were in the same position Ruby was sure that she would act the same.

They wouldn't be able to pry her from Sapphire's bedside.

Sapphire smiled weakly, eyes focused on the road in front of them; her house wasn't too far now. "It's fine, I don't care what she thinks anymore and if she doesn't like you then she better learn to because I plan on keeping you with me for a while," Her blue eyes shifted to the curly haired girl who sent her a small smile. "Where is Amethyst now?"

Ruby turned away from amazing blue eyes and faced the dreary road that didn't compare. "She's home, well at my house but it's basically her house too, Jasper literally had to force her to leave but it was worth it. She really needs some rest and Jasper could use a break away from Lapis," Ruby shook her head but couldn't stop the grin from creeping up on her face. "Man…I still can't believe she said all of that, what's up with her?"

Sapphire shrugged, a heavy sigh of anxiety falling from her parted lips once her girlfriend parked out front. "I barely talk to Lapis like that anymore; when I'm at the campus I only keep in touch with you, Rose, Pearl and occasionally Peridot."

Ruby couldn't stop her eyebrows from rising in surprise. "Peridot, seriously?"

"She's really good with altering pictures I need done for ballet stuff," Sapphire said, unbuckling her seat belt and placing a hand on the door handle. "…this is it, kiss for good luck."

It came out like a question but the demanding way Sapphire's lips pressed against hers caused the younger girl to groan. Ruby leaned in closer to deepen the kiss, automatically slipping her tongue past already parted and welcoming lips.

Sapphire's tongue battled with hers, the kiss quickly turning into a heated frenzy.

The hard knocking on Sapphire's side of the car caused the younger girl to accidentally bite on Sapphire's lower lip. Her red eyes went wide when a soft moan slipped past those plump lips as Sapphire pulled away with a small smirk, breaking eye contact as she let her window down.

"…mother," Sapphire fixed her smudged lip gloss right in front of her mother's stern face, not even trying to hide. "It's good to see you again," She said with a sickeningly sweet smile, pushing the car door open.

Alice hummed, pulling her only daughter into a fierce hug. "And you brought your gi-girlfriend," She tripped over the word before pulling away and pressing a soft kiss on top of her long bangs. "Come inside, your father is waiting in the living room and I made your favorite."

Sapphire couldn't help but smile as she wrapped an arm around her mother's shoulder. "Really, you must be in a great mood if you made me lasagna for breakfast," She snickered at the ridiculous thought, walking towards the porch steps with her mother.

"I can find a loophole for my daughter," Alice replied with a soft smile. "…I haven't seen you since Christmas,"

Sapphire raised an amused eyebrow. "…that was a month ago mom, it really hasn't been that long,"

Her mother nodded. "But when you left I realized how much I missed having you home. So, let's enjoy what little time we have left,"

"I'd like that," Sapphire smiled again, following her mother into the house.

Ruby grabbed her car keys from the ignition and locked her doors before she slowly trailed to the house; Sapphire had left the door open for her. The younger girl took the alone time to wipe away the remains of gloss on her lips with the back of her hand.

She knew that her girlfriend didn't get frightened by too many things and usually kept her calm, so when Alice knocked on the window it wasn't a surprise that the older girl didn't even flinch. But they were parked there for a good three minutes, just talking while her girlfriend looked at her childhood house. And when she pulled away from the kiss, she had this heated smirk on her face and Ruby couldn't help but think;

Maybe, Sapphire had kissed her like that in front of her mother for a reason?

* * *

Jasper handed her chubby friend a bag of popcorn before sitting beside her on the couch. "Thanks for letting us stay here Mrs. Harris," The larger girl smiled at the older woman who was sitting in the single chair diagonal from them.

"No problem," Scarlet waved them off, dropping her blanket to reveal a very preservative black sweatshirt; she didn't need them telling Ruby about how provocative she dressed in front of them. "I'm sure my little gummy bear won't mind her two closest friends staying here…why are you _here_ again?" She couldn't help but ask.

Jasper growled, crossing her arms over her supple breasts. "Lapis is getting on my nerves again, but she doesn't know where Ruby lives; Ruby made sure to keep it a secret from her, due to past experiences," She muttered, recalling the obsessive crush ordeal.

Amethyst smiled weakly, snuggling deeper into the cozy white blanket. "And my visiting hours have run up. Pearl is probably with her mom and dad right now, they left to come see if she was okay."

"I see," Scarlet snickered. "Talk about high school drama, I remember those days,"

The larger girl sat up and looked at the older woman. "Do you have any advice you could give us? Ruby is usually really good at it, but she's visiting Sapphire's mother, and you're her mother so you must be good at it too," Her orange eyes were bright with hope.

Scarlet shook her head. "Not really, Ruby gets her compassion from her father Rusty; I'm a little bit more heartless," She looked at the disappointed teen. "…but I can do my best and be honest with you?" She tried, not wanting to let her down.

"I'll take it," Jasper settled.

The older woman nodded, muting the television before giving the girl her full attention. "Okay, take me back to the beginning,"

Amethyst leaned heavily into the couch, groaning; she did not need to hear this story again.

"Well, I started a sexual thing with Peridot towards the end of Sophomore year, it was nothing serious. But I was a jerk to her and she broke things off and started dating Lapis," Jasper explained, looking at the rug below her feet. "But I slept with Lapis at the end of the year party, while she was dating Peridot; I still feel terrible for that. Then Junior year came and we got found out at Peridot's birthday party so they broke up because of it,"

Scarlet nodded, motioning for her to continue.

"Then Lapis and I got together at the Christmas Bash and have been dating since then," Jasper said. "I've been faithful, which is shocking, because I really want this to work out. But I just feel like Lapis isn't in the position to be in a relationship right now, she's almost unstable. I care about her, I do, but I think she should work on herself before she can trust anyone,"

Jasper bit her lower lip. "Some heavy stuff is going on at her house…her father isn't dad of the year," Amethyst looked up at that. "A-and her mother is always out of town so she can't protect her, I'm just so worried and Lapis doesn't want me to tell anyone…but I care about her wellbeing more than I do about her being angry at me," She confessed.

"…she went crazy at the hospital and accused me of having some weird threesome with Ruby and Amethyst."

Scarlet looked at her curiously. "Is it true?"

"No, it isn't true!" Amethyst was the one to snap, she was sick of people believing such a dumb rumor. "Look, just tell her what to do so we can turn the volume back on the TV."

"Just trying to make sure that my daughter isn't a freak, calm down," Scarlet reassured before giving Jasper her full attention. "In my honest opinion, I think you should alert the proper authorities and make sure Lapis is given the help she needs. Even if she ends up hating you, at least she'll be safe."

Scarlet gave her a look. "You're too young for this Jasper, there is no way you can deal with this and focus on college. If she had her way, she would consume your life but it's not too late. If you want, I can drive you to the police station." Her motherly eyes were as soft as her voice.

Jasper nodded slowly. "…what do you think Ame?"

"If her father is hurting her and you can do something to help, then help," Amethyst said seriously, right before kicking her feet up on the couch. "Now go to the police station so I can watch TV in peace,"

The larger girl slapped her friend on the back as she stood up from the couch. "Let Rub's know where I am if she gets home early or if we take a while,"

"Let's do this," Scarlet said, grabbing her car keys and walking out the front door with Jasper right behind her.

* * *

Pearl smiled softly as her mother helped her down into her bed, resting her injured leg on the pillow at the end of the mattress. "Thanks for leaving work early in order to make sure I was okay, mom,"

Topaz waved her daughter off. "Nonsense Pearl," She snickered. "You gave me a reason to leave early, I was working with some clients who—you know what, let's not get into that. My daughter is home with me for the first time since the holidays and I'm going to enjoy it,"

Her mother was tall and skinny just like her. They had similar hair colors as well as length but Topaz wore hers gelled back for more of a business look. She wore black framed glasses and was dressed in a fancy grey suit; with the rush to get there she didn't have time to change into something more casual.

"How long do you think you'll be staying here?" Topaz asked as she sat on the edge of the bed and began brushing her daughter's hair back.

Pearl was too tired to slap the hand away and shrugged. "Just until I can walk on crutches or something, I'm done with ballet until next year so I might stay with Sapphire," She sighed. "She has a single dorm but maybe she'll move out and get a small apartment with me for the year; I know that she and Ruby are planning on moving in together once Ruby graduates so I don't know…"

She knew the idea wouldn't go so smoothly with Ruby and even if Sapphire agreed, she wouldn't mean it and would only be agreeing to spare her friends feelings.

"What about Rose? You can move in with her family and pay rent, she could use the extra money with the child," Topaz shook her head, forgetting the obvious. "Why don't you just stay home? Your father and I are barely there so it will be like your own house anyway; maybe you can get a job."

Pearl bit her lower lip, it was tempting. "I can't stay there; I've come too far to start depending on you guys again. I'll get my ballet check and use the money for a place, I was staying in a hotel that wasn't too—Peridot…I can call her up, she's doing photography for the team but maybe I can work with her," The excited smile growing on her face was infectious.

"Since when are you interested in photography and isn't it better for you to steer clear of ballet while your injured," Topaz questioned.

"It sucks that I'm injured but I don't want to stay away from it, mom," Pearl smiled weakly. "I love it way too much…I'll do anything to get just a glimpse of it, even for a second."

Topaz nodded, offering a supportive smile. "If you're sure,"

* * *

"Congratulations on scoring your one thousand points," Aero said from his spot at the head of the table. "This makes you guys undefeated, right?"

Ruby swallowed her piece of lasagna before chuckling. "Yeah, our first States round is next week so come out and support," She grinned, grabbing her water and taking a sip.

"I'll be there for the game on Friday," Sapphire said from beside her, she had finished her food a while ago and was listening to the conversation; she leaned in closer to the younger girl. "I don't have any recitals next week; we're kind of just practicing on our own until it's time,"

Ruby blushed, moving away from the close brush of Sapphire's breasts against her right arm. "Uhh…yeah, that's cool," She smiled sheepishly as she slowly pushed her plate away. "I have a college scout coming to the game too so I have to give it my all,"

"I thought a scout was at the last game?" The older man with short wavy hair asked, taking a sip of his ice cold water before turning his light blue eyes to the basketball player. "What school is this one from?"

The curly haired girl chanced a glance at Alice, cracking under her intense gaze, before she turned back to Aero's more accepting one. "…a coach from Sapph's school, he told me he was interested in getting me on the team with a chance of an athletic scholarship,"

Sapphire grinned, placing a hand on the younger girls' shoulder. "That's great,"

Aero nodded, a small smile gracing his lips as well. "It is, I know you'll do amazing but good luck anyway,"

"You two are planning on going to the same college now?" Alice's sharp voice cut through the room, Ruby flinched. "…wont that, distract you from your school work Sapphire? I wouldn't want you to mix up your priorities."

Ruby swallowed nervously. "I know how important it is for her but I can assure you that I would never get in the way of her future. I'm trying to build something for myself as well, so I'll be focused on my work an—"

Sapphire didn't look away from her mother as she softly interrupted her girlfriend. "We're going to get a small apartment together near the campus, but I think it will be easier if we just dorm together."

"…you're going to be living together?" Alice's lips twisted before forming a thin line; the curly haired girl could have sworn a tiny bomb had just went off in Alice's head. "I see, what will you be majoring in Ruby? Do you even know what you want to do with your life?"

The younger girl shifted as all eyes were placed on her, except for Sapphire who was still glaring at her mother. Now Ruby understood why Sapphire only wanted to stay for a few hours and was almost happy that they wasted most of their time at the hospital and babysitting Steven.

It wasn't the glares or cold gestures Alice would give her, Ruby could handle that. Having a basketball coach, being the best player on the team and being put under a tremendous amount of pressure, had somehow prepared her for that. What she couldn't handle was people asking her about her future goals.

She didn't have a plan for everything.

Sure she had a few ideas but she didn't know how she was going to be able to make those into a reality. Ruby knew she was an amazing athlete, she could choose between multiple sports and she would excel, but in terms of education she didn't know.

"Uhm, I haven't thought about a major or anything like that yet," Ruby confessed, her eyes looking down at the white table cloth as if it were the most impressive fabric in the world. "My mother is an accountant and is always traveling and I'm sure I could follow in her footsteps and do something like that but I've seen the affect it has on her family, barely being around for important moments and such."

Sapphire, for the first time during the whole dinner, looked away from her mother and watched Ruby pour her heart out.

"I know it's like a million in one chance of going pro for basketball, or any sport, but that's what I'm good at," Ruby smiled. "It's not easy but I love doing it and I can honestly say that's where my heart is. My father taught me how to play baseball when I was young and that opened the flood gates to a variety of other sports; baseball, football, soccer, boxing and now basketball."

Ruby shrugged, still not looking up from the table. "I feel like, like, I wouldn't be taking part of my father with me if I didn't at least try to partake in a sport. It's not just what he would have wanted, but it's what I want." She finally met the cold blue eyes that belonged to Alice, she held the gaze. "I know it won't be easy, nothing worth it ever is, but I'm willing to give it my all."

Alice seemed to be satisfied with that answer. "You have so much passion for what you do so it doesn't matter if you don't have everything planned out. But if your mother is an accountant, I would just suggest majoring in business just to have something to fall back on," She suggested with a weak and for the first time since the whole dinner gave a, honest, smile.

Aero grinned, placing a hand on his wife's right one. "Sapphire plans on doing ballet for as long as possible, who knows? Maybe one day you two will both be well known for your sport,"

"I don't know about fame," Ruby scratched the back of her neck. "I just have a love for the sport,"

Sapphire agreed, resting her hand on her girlfriends' shoulder. "Same,"

This time Ruby didn't shy away from the touch and offered the older girl a gentle smile.

* * *

Jasper gulped as she backed away from the glass doors of the police station for the sixth time in fifteen minutes. "…no, I can't do this to her. She would never trust me again an—"

"For the love of…just go inside and stop second guessing yourself Jasper!" Scarlet lost her patience and literally pried the door open and pushed the large woman inside where she fell right in front of the desk. "Excuse me officer, this woman would like to report an offense."

The orange girl mumbled under her breath, rubbing her arm where she had been handled roughly. "…yeah, I'd report you for throwing me in here if you weren't so hot—"

"What was that?" Scarlet dared her to speak up, red eyes flashing dangerously.

"N-nothing," Jasper swallowed, trying to stand up straighter as she faced the bored police man in front of her; his graying hair and unfinished cross word puzzle summed up his life. "…my girlfriend Lapis Lazuli, I think her father…no, I know her father has been hurting her. She begged me not to tell anyone, she thinks that it's her fault, but I can't stand by and let her continue to be hurt."

Officer Bob, his nametag claims, dropped the pencil for his puzzle and hardened his black eyes. "This is a serious offense, and once this case begins it will not be able to be stopped. So I'm only going to ask you this once, are you sure that he is hurting her? Because if he isn't and you're lying then it won't just ruin his life," He warned.

Jasper shook her head, earning a supporting smile from Scarlet. "I'm sure he's dangerous and I only want to help Lapis, so please. Help her," She begged,

Officer Bob stood up from his desk and turned around to walk into the back room. "Let me get the forms to fill out and then we have ourselves a case."

Scarlet placed a hand on the large girls' shoulder. "You're doing the right thing,"

"I hope so," Jasper whispered, preparing herself for the storm Lapis was about to throw at her.

* * *

Pearl pulled out her phone to dial Peridot's number when she was sure that her mother had gotten into an intense debate with some clients who had been trying to reach her for hours. Topaz continually ignored their calls but once Pearl convinced her with a soft smile and kind words, she called them back and took the conversation outside. They had been calling her for a while so Pearl knew that her mother would take a while, leaving her just enough time to talk to her friend privately.

"Hey, why are you calling me," Peridot's squeaky voice sounded slightly outraged. "You should be resting, does Amethyst know that you're—"

Pearl stopped her, looking out the glass window where her mother continued to argue. "Not now Peridot, I don't have much time so please listen and don't do that thing where you ignore everything I say to think about photographs you need to work on; this is serious."

The line was silent for a moment. "…I'm listening,"

Pearl let out a sigh of relief, her friend did know when to take something seriously. "I need a place to stay and a job while I recover and I don't want to stay away from ballet." She continued when she heard Peridot begin to protest. "Don't try to talk me out of it, I love ballet and I'll do anything to be around it even if I can't participate in it. I want to travel with you and the team; I'll help you with pictures, anything, just let me do something."

"I can't go running back home, I've come too far."

Peridot sighed heavily on the other line. "Fine, I have enough money for you to stay at the hotel with me and I'm sure Rainy will pay you as well once she finds out you're assisting me. But you don't get to take pictures or alter them just yet, it is an art and like all art it takes time to master."

"But I will be willing to teach you a few things," The smile was in her voice.

Pearl smiled in relief. "Thank you so much, I promise I won't let you down," She sighed when she saw her mother hang up the phone, rubbing her temples and reaching for her coffee on the table next to her. "My mother is going to be back soon so I'll text you about details later,"

"I'll pick you up since your car is still in the shop," Peridot offered.

Pearl smiled so hard her cheeks were starting to hurt, suddenly regretting all those times she and her friends pushed Peridot out of their circle; they were so childish back then. "You're the best,"

"I know," The over confidence that usually made her groan brought a smile to her face.

* * *

"It was nice seeing you again Ruby," Aero pulled away from the soft hug and smiled down at her. "Don't be a stranger, okay?"

The muscular girl nodded. "I won't," She pulled out her car keys and gestured behind her. "I'm going to start the car, Sapphire may like to be freezing but I can't say I agree," She teased the older girl and nudged shoulders gently.

"She's right," Sapphire didn't try to argue as the younger girl walked away, she leaned up on her tippy toes and embraced her father. "I'll call you as soon as I get into my dorm."

Aero pulled away and placed a soft kiss on her head. "Alright, I'll talk to you then, I love you,"

"Love you too dad," Sapphire admitted honestly as she watched her father go back inside, leaving her with her mother. "…I guess I should get going?"

Alice, leaning on the railing, to her left nodded. "Be safe, I'll be expecting a call as soon as you have the time." The older woman hesitated but ended up reaching out to grab her daughter by the elbow. "Ruby…isn't as bad as I thought she—that came out wrong,"

Sapphire groaned. "Mom," She whined uncharacteristically.

"I'm glad she makes you happy and wants what is best for you," Alice smiled teasingly. "I approve of her; I know you don't need my permission. But with the way you were being all touchy with her in front of me, I figured I'd just let you know that it doesn't bother me…not as much as before,"

Alice sighed. "I'm trying,"

"And I really appreciate it mom, I'll be sure to call. I love you," Sapphire's blush from the previous statement faded away and she hugged her mother one last time before walking towards the curly haired girl who was trying to warm up the car.

It hadn't been a complete train wreck.

* * *

"How much longer do you have until you have to go back?" Ruby asked as they drove around aimlessly; she didn't want to go back home and help her friends deal with their issues, not yet.

She just wanted to be with Sapphire for a little longer before she had to go.

Sapphire hummed, glancing at the clock on the radio. "Five hours I think, what do you think we should do until then?" She asked, almost too innocently.

"So it wasn't just me," Ruby huffed, looking away briefly to place an accusing glare at her lover. "You were being all feely in front of your mother on purpose! Why would you do that, are you going through some kind of rebellious phase that I should know before I decide to willingly encourage it?" She grinned goofily but the question was serious.

"What's going on Sapph?"

The older girl shrugged. "I just wanted to get back at my mother for being so unsupportive of us and so hateful towards you before. I guess I wanted to see her crawl a little but when I spoke to her earlier, I could tell that she was really trying and that I should ease up on her." Sapphire flinched at her own immature behavior. "Gosh I'm so sorry I used you like that,"

"You didn't mean to," Ruby held her hand and squeezed it softly. "…how about we go back to my place and listen to Amethyst complain about not being able to be with Pearl, watch Jasper eye hump my mother, play with Snowflake for a while and I'll try my best to prevent my mother from telling you embarrassing stories about me." Ruby paused, smiling softly. "But we both know I can't stop that woman,"

Sapphire giggled at the stories that Scarlet had told her over the year. "You were so cute and reckless when you were younger." She bit her lower lip. "Thank you, for understanding,"

"Thank you for putting up with my crazy friends and even crazier mother," Ruby grinned. "Now, brace yourself for her main event story. It stars me, featuring a bowl of chocolate sauce…"

Sapphire grinned. "This should be good,"


	8. Day Off

**I'm back, sorry for the wait but school and such. It's going a lot better than a few months ago and I'm meeting new people every day. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and I'll try to update my other stories next week.**

* * *

 **PREVIOUSLY ON GOING THE DISTANCE: Ruby and Sapphire have an eventful dinner with the Field's family, which ends up giving Sapphire piece of mind. Pearl starts making plans to travel with her ballet team and assist Peridot with the photography despite her mothers' doubts. Amethyst continues to sulk and Jasper goes with Scarlet to the police station in hopes of making a statement that can change her relationship with Lapis forever.**

* * *

 **Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 8: _Day off_**

The curly haired senior swallowed, as her crimson red eyes met with bright emerald ones across the room. "Hey," It came out as a whisper, she cleared her throat and ran a hand through her thick curls that were pulled back by a black headband. "What are you doing in these parts?"

Cynthia brushed a stray strand of green hair and tucked it behind her ear, an easy smile came on her lips. "I used to play here all of the time when I was younger,"

It was approximately 10:30 in the morning when the basketball star had decided to leave out early to shoot a few baskets at a court near a rundown town she used to reside in. Beach town was a small place where Ruby lived when her father was still alive, they only moved to Beach City after he passed away. It was hard at first, ten years old when she lost her father and friends, but once she met Jasper and Amethyst she grew attached to the new town.

Beach town was just an hour away from Beach City and although it was a long drive to shoot a few baskets, it was the only place where she felt at peace. So, having Cynthia show up at a place so personal to her makes her feel as if the girl was violating a private moment.

She hadn't told her friends, let alone Sapphire about this part of her life. But some random girl who she spoke to like, twice, gets the privilege to see this side of her?

"I grew up around here before I moved to Beach City," Ruby explained, giving as little detail as possible. "But I don't think I remember seeing you here," She tucked the ball under her right arm as she placed her other hand on her hips.

The green haired girl smiled softly. "I didn't grow up here but my aunt and cousins live around here so I visited a lot when I was younger. I'm actually seeing them now and whenever I'm in town I can't resist playing here," Her smile fell slightly and a look of concern graced her features. "Why didn't you bring your friends with you? And don't you have to rest for the finals game?"

Ruby chuckled awkwardly. "My friends are kind of doing their own things right now,"

* * *

 _Her eyes widened. "You did what?"_

 _"I went with Jasper to file a report about Lapis," Scarlet repeated calmly with her hands on her hips. "You weren't around and she didn't want to go alone,"_

 _Ruby ran a hand through her hair, pacing in the living room where her friends and Sapphire all sat on the couches awkwardly. "That wasn't your decision to make mom, what if her father isn't really hurting her?"_

 _"And what if he is?" Jasper dared, standing up from her spot beside Amethyst; the chubby girl was nursing a pulsing headache and was due to snap at any second. "You don't see the way she acts around him or the bruises that she hides under her sleeves, she has no one else. I have to be there for her," Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair was in shambles, she resembled Amethyst who couldn't sleep without jumping awake with thoughts of Pearl._

 _Ruby looked away, her glare on the wood floor where Snowflake was sleeping near the couch beside Sapphire. "…where's Lapis now? Don't you think she'd freak out when she comes home to police officers at her front door and arresting her father, shouldn't you at least be there for her?"_

 _Jasper scoffed weakly. "Like she'd want to see me after what I did to her, and they aren't going to arrest him right away. They're going to call them both into questioning,"_

 _The curly haired girl frowned. "And what do you think her father is going to think about that? If what you said is true then she isn't safe there, and she should stay somewhere else so she won't be there when he finds out," Her red eyes looked around in thought. "…let her stay with you, your parents are rarely home. But I wouldn't tell her about what you did, not yet."_

 _The larger girl nodded silently. "I wasn't planning to, but I don't want to lie either. But Lapis is unstable and she'd do something reckless with the condition she's in,"_

 _Amethyst laughed darkly. "Why don't we just have an intervention, we could all use one right now. We're all fucked up,"_

 _"Hey," Ruby began, her eyes darkening as she stared at her restless friend._

 _The purple girl pulled the blanket up to her neck and curled deeper into the ball she was in. "It's true. Jasper and Lapis are a wreck, Rose and Greg can barely provide for their child, Pearl is in the hospital and I can barely sleep without having nightmares about what I did to her."_

 _Jasper frowned. "You didn't do that Am,"_

 _"Then why do I feel like I did?" Amethyst questioned, her eyebrows furrowed. "…we need to just sit down and talk about what's going on in our lives. I can't keep holding it in," She glanced at a mute Sapphire who kept her gaze on the puppy by her feet. "When Sapphire comes back on Friday for the game, we're all going to sit and have a long talk."_

 _She looked at Jasper and then to Ruby. "We need to, because the alternative is killing me and I can see it's killing you guys." She looked away. "And Ruby and Sapphire might not be going through anything but they still have to hear about our problems and it's affecting them too."_

 _Ruby couldn't disagree that their problems had resulted in her missing a few events and sleepless nights. "Fine, we'll talk next week."_

 _Sapphire nodded. "Yeah," She looked back to Jasper seriously. "But you need to call Lapis now and get her somewhere safe, but try not to scare her away; there's no telling what she'd do if she found out." When the larger girl nodded, she glanced at Amethyst. "And you, just give Pearl her space until she reaches out to you."_

 _Amethyst sighed. "Okay, I'll give her all the time she needs,"_

 _"…how about I fix you all some food?" Scarlet asked after an awkward silence. "You must be starving,"_

 _Their growling bellies answered her questioned, they replied with soft blushes._

* * *

"Too bad," The shorter girl looked at the two-basket court with a smile. "This is the best spot,"

Ruby nodded with a small grin and finally let the ball fall from her finger tips, she dribbled it between her legs. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean you and I can't have some fun," She missed the soft flush on the shorter girls face as she tossed her the ball, Cynthia caught it fluently. "How about we get a one on one? Settle things once and for all,"

The green haired girl hummed, looking at the ball between her palms. "I thought we proved that your team is better, you beat us and you're going to the finals." She smiled playfully.

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah, but your team was making silly mistakes. But you were perfect," She shook her head and waved her hands. "I-I mean, your team— "

"Would suck without me?" She answered with a soft smile. "Pretty much."

The curly haired girl sighed and looked down at the other girl sheepishly. "Then why are you playing for them? No offence but they make you look bad,"

"We might not be the best team but the friendship is real," She tossed the ball back to the taller girl. "And they've become like a family to me. Your ball,"

Ruby rolled the basketball around aimlessly in her palms, her lower lip tucked between her straight teeth that had been trained by braces years ago. "I can't get too into the game; coach gave us the day off and I just wanted to work on my jump shots a bit. She'd kill me if I let you break my ankles days before our big game, maybe when everything is over?"

Cynthia grabbed the ball, causing Ruby to frown. "You seem stressed out and something tells me that basketball has something to do with it,"

"What, no I'm fine," Ruby waved her off.

The other girl wasn't having it. "I can see it in your eyes, you're worried about the game and playing basketball isn't going to help you relax. Maybe there's a reason why your coach gave you the day off," She grabbed the other woman's' larger hand within hers, she blushed at the warmth she provided. "…come on, let's get your mind of this game by doing something else,"

Ruby allowed herself to be dragged out of the gated area. "Like what?"

"You'll see," Cynthia replied with a teasing grin.

* * *

Pearl smiled brightly as Peridot walked through the hospital door and into her room. "Hey Peridot, thanks for getting my car out the shop. My mother texted me that it was in the driveway,"

"It's not a big deal," Peridot sat down in the chair right next to her friend's bed. "…how are you feeling?"

The skinny woman rolled her eyes and gazed at the wheel-chair taunting her in the corner. "I'm set to leave tomorrow morning but I'll be in that wheel-chair for a few weeks until I can build my way up to crutches. How are you doing?"

The shorter girl shrugged. "Fine I guess, where is Amethyst? I heard that she wouldn't leave your side," She looked around, as if the cubby girl would jump out from under the bed.

"I sent her home, her eyes were so bloodshot and I knew she wouldn't get any sleep here," Pearl admitted as she leaned into the pillows. "But once I'm home, I'll ask her to come over and we'll talk then,"

Peridot sighed. "You didn't tell her that I was taking you to Rainey's production, did you?"

"I was going to," Pearl began sheepishly. "But I didn't want to do it over the phone, but I will let her know,"

"Just do it before she finds out from someone else," Peridot mumbled.

Pearl frowned. "Are you threatening to tell her?"

"Of course not," Peridot stood up and gathered her belongings. "But your mother is in town," Was all she said as she walked towards the door. "I have to get a few things taken care of for our trip next month, but I'll call you about any details,"

Pearl could only wave as her friend walked out. "Thanks,"

She was left alone in the hospital room, her only entertainment was _Golden Girls_ playing on the flat-screen television resting on the wall.

* * *

Jasper swallowed nervously as she placed her girlfriend's bags near the door before closing it. "It's strange,"

"Strange doesn't even compare, it was a complete violation of privacy!" Lapis growled, plopping down on the couch angrily. "I bet that old cat lady next door reported my father, the nerve of that crazy old bag,"

The larger girl chuckled softly. "Now that your father is at the police station, do you think your mother will be coming to town?" She asked softly.

"Probably," Lapis rubbed her temples. "But can I stay here until she's gets back?"

Jasper finally took her cue and sat beside her girlfriend, she held her hand in hers. "Of course, I wouldn't want you to be left alone in that house." She bit her lower lip. "D-did, the police really not tell you who filed the report on your father?"

"No, they just said it was from an anonymous source." The swimmer said, leaning into the broad shoulder beside her. "I still don't understand how they were able to arrest him based on someone filling a complaint, unless they had more to go off on," She frowned, lost in thought to who could have done such a thing.

Jasper shrugged stiffly. "Don't worry, everything is going to be okay,"

"It will be," Lapis huffed. "As soon as I find whoever did this,"

The larger girl gulped. "…yeah,"

Her friends were going to freak when the found out she hadn't told her girlfriend the truth. If they didn't, she was positive that Lapis would.

* * *

Ruby couldn't help the grin on her lips, she chuckled as she spoke. "Seriously, you want me to help you spray paint this wall? You do know that we can go to jail for this, right? Or I can get disqualified from my big game Friday and I don't even know how to paint or— "

"Take a chill pill," Cynthia placed a reassuring black gloved covered hand on the taller woman's broad right shoulder, she pushed her closer to the plain red brick wall. "People paint stuff here all of the time, this is the best place for it because it's like an unknown land,"

The green haired girl had taken the basketball star to an empty grass area with a half-destroyed house in the middle. The once three-story building had holes in multiple walls, windows were smashed out and doors were hanging off their hinges. Ruby refused to go inside the dark enterer that sat within, mocking her.

The curly haired girl took the tin of blue spray from her friend and pouted, gazing up at the blank canvas. "…what do I say?"

Cynthia shook her own can. The sound of the needle inside bouncing against the hollow metal can told Ruby that this wasn't Cynthia's first time here.

Ruby watched as strands of straight green hair fell past her small ears and into her face, her tongue stuck out in concentration. "Whatever you want to say," Cynthia said swiftly, her words following her actions as her right hand went into the motions.

Red eyes watched in awe as the artist continued to express themselves openly. It was all in the movement of her body; to her jagged arm movements, the way she made sure not to add too much pressure with her pointer finger, and even with the movement of her bright green eyes.

Nope, those were staring at her.

Ruby looked away with a slight blush and picked up her can and began to paint. As she let her emotions burn through, she felt lighter.

After what felt like hours of defacing property, Cynthia was finished with her piece and Ruby stopped at the cramp in her hand. They simultaneously switched positions to view each other's artwork.

Ruby crossed her arms, trying to act like an art critic. "Hmm, I thought we were supposed to be getting our minds off basketball," She chuckled, gesturing to the nicely made orange basketball on the wall.

"And I have no idea what you did," Cynthia answered honestly, tilting her head to look at the taller girl for help. "And basketball is always on my mind, it's what I love." She said in defense for her piece. "Yours looks like a blue laffy taffy tree," She said honestly.

Ruby let her arms fall at her side, she shrugged. "It's supposed to be a road I guess," She bit her lower lip. "I have a lot of paths that I can take but I'm not sure where I should go. It can be overwhelming, especially when everyone is looking at me for all the answers."

Cynthia pulled out her phone. "No, I totally get it. I didn't at first but once you explained, it's kind of poetic," She gave the curly haired girl a small smile. "Come on, let's take a picture by our art,"

"Let me get my phone too," Ruby ignored the few messages on her screen and pointed the camera towards them. "…that's a nice picture," She admitted with a smile, saving it to her phone and posting it to her snapchat story.

As she was closing her apps Cynthia caught a glimpse of Ruby's screen saver. "You guys are really cute together," She smiled at the image of Sapphire playing a video game with Snowflake on her lap. "How long have you been dating?" She asked as they began walking back to their cars.

"About a year and a half now," Ruby answered with ease, a light smile on her face as she jiggled her keys inside her sweatpants pocket.

Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "Wow, that's a long time. Are you guys at that comfortable stage or do you still try and impress?"

Ruby bit her lower lip. "I mean, we're comfortable to the point where she doesn't care if I shave my legs or not. Or I hope she doesn't mind," She chuckled. "But we've seen each other at our worst and we still romance things up here and there, but nothing to crazy. We're thinking of moving in together for college; if I get in at her school,"

"I'm sure you will," Cynthia reassured, leaning on her car as they reached the curb. "Where are you headed now? Back to town?"

Ruby nodded her head yes. "I have some homework I need to finish and Amethyst will probably be in my bed if I'm not home soon." Her shudder was a conditioned response for what Amethyst and Pearl had done in Jasper's bed two years back. "And she'll want me to play videogames with her too,"

Cynthia laughed. "Well, if you guys ever need a fourth I have an extra controller,"

"You play?" Ruby grinned. "Here, give me your number and I'll invite you over to play with us sometimes. Amethyst takes a little getting used to and Jasper is stand offish around new people, but trust me; they were worse before."

"I believe it," Cynthia handed the phone back after saving her number, she opened her door. "I'll see you at the game on Friday. We may have lost to you but I do not want Lake Side to win,"

Ruby grinned. "And they won't, I'll see you later,"

* * *

Ruby smiled as Snowflake ran over to her, she scoped the small dog into her arms and shut the door with her foot. "Hey girl, where's Amethyst." She stopped when she saw her friend sitting on the couch, on her back with her head resting in the armrest. "There she is, what are you doing? I thought you wanted to lose in— "

"What are you doing?" Amethyst shot back, not angry but curious and a little shocked.

Ruby patted Snowflake on her head before letting her run upstairs. "What do you mean? Did you text me about food or something, sorry but I was busy,"?

"Yeah, busy with Cynthia," Amethyst said with a huff, holding her phone up. "Why are you posting picture of you and some hot girl all over your story?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "She's not all over it, she has five seconds and the rest are picture of the stuff we painted,"

Amethyst's eyes widened. "She has you breaking the law! This girl is bad news, why were you even in an area like that?"

"Hey," Ruby snapped. "I grew up in a neighborhood like that."

The long-haired girl sighed. "All I'm saying is, someone could take it the wrong way if they saw it. Sapphire, your girlfriend, might not want you getting all spirit searching friendly with Cynthia."

The curly haired girl crossed her arms. "I'm not deleting it, and you better get used to her spirit searching because I'm inviting her over this week to hang out with us,"

"You can't just bring her into the group like that!" Amethyst protested. "You do know that Sapphire is going to flip, right?"

Ruby huffed. "You're acting like we were kissing in the picture, and Cynthia is a friend like you guys. Sapphire will understand that,"

The sudden ring coming from Ruby's pocket caused Amethyst to snicker. "Man, where is Jasper when you need her?"

"Shut up, she probably just wants to call to check in," Ruby said as she held the phone up to her ear, she flinched at the automatic yelling she got from over the line.

Amethyst's mouth was in the shape of an 'o' as she moved closer. "Sapphire didn't waste time to get her point across did she," She raised an eyebrow at her friend who shook her head and pulled the phone away from her ringing ear.

Ruby tried to get a word in. "Rose!"

"Rose is calling? Oh, this is even better, you've upset mom!" Amethyst snickered, feeling very much like her former self. "Psh, put it on speaker," She said through her laughter.

Ruby tried to balance the noise from Amethyst's laughing and Rose's yelling. "No, I did not have sex with Cynthia Rose. We were just hanging out as friends, yes we are just friends. I can't believe you would even think that I could—thanks for the vote Greg," She deadpanned.

"…look, if you're freaking out about this than maybe I should call Sapphire and clear things up before she starts to assume things," Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I know Rose. Yes. No, Cynthia is not a homewrecker and don't tell people that—hello?" She groaned heavily before dropping next to Amethyst on the couch.

Amethyst picked up a controller and started the game up.

Ruby looked over at her with a frown. "What, you still want to play?"

The long-haired girl laughed. "I'm playing, but I think you have a call to make."

Ruby just snatched her phone and proceeded to her bedroom.

* * *

 **The next chapter will be in Sapphire's point of view and a bit more extended. Sorry for the mistake but I just needed to get a chapter out there this week and I have a lot of school work that needs to be done by Monday.**

 **Thanks for reading and please tell me what you think.**


	9. What am I doing?

**LINE BRE** **PREVIOUSLY ON GOING THE DISTANCE:** Ruby gets an earful when her friends find out she has been hanging out with Cynthia, and struggles to find a way to explain it to Sapphire. Jasper withholds the truth of the investigation from Lapis with hopes of keeping their relationship alive while Pearl gets ready to travel with Peridot; leaving Amethyst in the dark.

Meanwhile, Rose warns her lady friends about a devious woman lurking around town.

* * *

 **Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 9: _What am I doing?_**

"No way," Amethyst basically growled out with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Ruby licked her lower lip and placed her controller down on the table, she swallowed. "Come on, Ame, don't be like this in front of company—"

The chubby girl shook her head, a glare directed at the green-eyed teen who sat beside her curly haired friend on the couch. "Why is she even here, Ruby!" She yelled, pointing a finger at Cynthia.

The short haired girl had paused the game and was looking anywhere but at the cubby girl, her lip was tucked between her teeth nervously. She honestly didn't see what the problem was. Ruby said she could come over anytime if she wasn't busy to play videogames with her friends. Sure, she might have cashed her coupon in a little early, and texted her the next day after class, but she really liked Ruby.

It was nice to have friends who had the same things in common; someone she could relate to.

"Jasper, can you take over," Ruby stood abruptly from the couch and tossed her controller to Jasper, who, with everything going on with Lapis, could use a break and took it without another word. "You," Her red eyes burned a hole through Amethyst's face. "Come with me in the kitchen,"

Amethyst gave another glance to Cynthia before she followed her friend into the other room with a huff. "…I thought you were going to talk to Sapphire about this! I am positive that she wouldn't approve of you bringing this chick into your house," She crossed her arms in disgust. "Sapphire sits on that couch!" She said, as it were the ultimate taboo.

Ruby gave her a complexed look, shaking her head, and sat on a stool opposite her friend. "I did call her last night,"

"And?" Amethyst urged.

Ruby frowned. "She understands Cynthia is just a friend, just like I get it that Ronaldo is just a friend to her; and how you and Jasper are my friends too,"

"Don't try to compare Cynthia with Jasper and I, okay. We're not the ones who are secretly planning on seducing you and homewrecking shit," Amethyst ran a hand through her messy hair. "And Ronaldo is gay, he isn't even looking at Sapphire like that so he doesn't count."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Bonnie is gay, who's to say she isn't lusting after Sapphire while they're away from their girlfriends? I trust her not to do anything just like she trusts me. Cynthia is just a friend, I can promise you that," She spoke honestly.

Amethyst sighed. "I'm just saying, I used to be one of those people who cheat and sleep around with people in relationships so I know how much it can hurt them. I'm not proud of it, but I've grown up and I just don't want you to ruin what you and Sapphire have,"

"I would never do that, okay," Ruby gave a reassuring smile. "Now, are you going to chill out so I can ask you to come to a concert with us tonight? Marceline is in town, and I haven't been to a party in months. But our game is Friday so we shouldn't drink at all, we have to stay in shape for states,"

The other girl groaned. "I've never been to a single concert sober," Her smile brightened. "But it's Marceline so I assume it will be worth it, is Bonnie going to be there too or is she stuck at college?"

"I have no idea, I don't talk to her like that," Ruby shrugged, looking at the clock on the wall. "It's five now and the show starts in an hour so we should probably get going, it's a long drive,"

The long-haired teen patted a hand on her friends back as they began walking out. "Who's going to tell Cynthia the bad news," She snickered. "I'm sure as hell not driving her home, so she can walk for all I care."

Ruby bit her lower lip as they exited to the living room where Jasper and Centi had finished their game, they were talking quietly now. "A-actually, about that—"

"Hey, we better hurry if we're going to catch the concert," Cynthia spoke up with a bubbly smile, she headed over to the front door and jiggled her keys. "Come on, I'll drive since you got the tickets." She smiled even brighter, the expression making Amethyst want to gag. "I'm a huge fan of Marceline and I've never been to a single concert," Her voice faded away as she headed outside, mumbling to herself. "I have to buy a shirt!"

"What the heck; now you're inviting her to concerts with us?" Amethyst frowned. "First you hang out with her yesterday and spray paint walls, then you invited her over to play videogames and now this! When will it end?" She threw her arms up dramatically.

Jasper crossed her arms where she stood by the door. "Relax, Amethyst, Cynthia is actually pretty cool once you get to know her. And she doesn't have a lot of friends, so I don't see what's wrong with us hanging out with her,"

"Thank you," Ruby grinned, finally someone was on her side.

Amethyst made a face. "You've known her for what, one videogame session? And now you're acting like she's your best friend,"

"But, Amethyst is right, Ruby," The larger teen gave a disapproving look to her friend. "If Lapis was hanging out with some hot chick and bonding about things we've never bonded about, then I wouldn't be okay with that. I'm not saying you should stop hanging out with her, just try not to do it so much." She uncrossed her arms. "Sapphire may try to play it cool and act like it's not bothering her, but I know that if the roles were reversed you wouldn't like it either."

Ruby threw her arms up in aggravation. "Look, I get it, everyone thinks I'm a scumbag for wanting to make new friends! Can we please just go to the concert, have a fun time, and talk about this later?"

"Whatever, don't say I didn't warn you," Amethyst mumbled under her breath before walking out to the car.

Jasper opened her mouth to speak but Ruby stopped her with a raised hand. "I don't want to hear anymore Jasper, I'm just trying to help out a friend and I don't see what's wrong with that. You act like she tried hitting on me or something, but she hasn't." She assured.

"Okay, I trust you not to do anything stupid," Jasper shrugged, closing the front door behind them as they headed down the steps. "Come on, I can't wait to get to this concert and get drunk off my—"

Ruby shook her head. "We have a game in three days—"

"Ruby, I have so much going on and I could really use a day to just black out right now," Jasper confessed with pleading eyes. "Just promise to make sure I don't do anything crazy. I get a little flirty when I'm drunk,"

The curly haired teen laughed. "You get a lot flirty. Last time you tried to propose to my dog, barely had time to get Snowflake away before you could shove your tongue down her throat,"

Jasper didn't laugh along. "I'm serious, Ruby. I want to let loose but I can't cheat on Lapis, not with everything I've done, with everything I'm putting her through."

"…you still haven't told her yet," Was on the tip of Ruby's tongue, but she chose not to say anything and just nodded.

No matter how upset Amethyst was about Cynthia hanging out with their trio, she made sure not to let Ruby take the passenger seat and took it herself. Ruby didn't mind as she sat behind Amethyst, Jasper sliding in on the other side.

Cynthia pulled onto the street once everyone had their seatbelts on, she smiled. "Are you all excited for the game Friday?"

Ruby leaned her head back into the seat with a lazy grin. "I can't wait to win states, it's going to be awesome! We'll go down in history as the first team to do it at our school,"

"It'll be a great way to end our high school career," Amethyst spoke softly from the front, her eyes glued to the road.

The green haired teen smiled. "I can't believe we're seniors; college is only months away guys. Where are you all going?" She questioned. "I'm going to stay local, but I'm not playing basketball in college. I think I'll just focus on getting my culinary degree and opening a restaurant."

Amethyst glanced over at her, eyebrow raised. "…that, actually, doesn't make me want to blow my brains out," Jasper snickered at her friend's response while Ruby rolled her eyes, but a smile graced her lips. "I love anything involving food but I'd rather have it prepared for me, instead of doing the work myself."

"I don't know if I'll do basketball in college though," Amethyst shrugged. "I don't even have a major decided, but I think I'll do something with sports management. But we never know, right?"

Cynthia nodded, taking in everything the chubby girl said. "Jasper, what about you?"

The larger teen scratched the back of her neck. "I got into Beach City University (BCU) so I think I'll go there and work on my degree in engineering or something. My cousin Bismuth is getting her bachelors in that, she's a senior now so when I graduate I'll have some connections." She paused. "No sports for me, I think I'm done after high school."

Green eyes met red in the rear mirror. "Ruby?"

The grin on Ruby's face could blind someone. "I plan on becoming a professional basketball player, my father would have wanted me to continue playing in college; I know how much he wanted me to succeed. But I plan on majoring in accounting, like my mom, just to have something to fall back on."

"I'm going to do something great with my life," Ruby grinned even harder. "I can feel it,"

Jasper leaned her cheek on her left fist. "Yeah, no, see, I plan on avoiding people getting all in my business. I like privacy,"

Ruby shrugged. "Small price to pay for your dreams," She ran her thumb over her screen-saver of her and Sapphire. "And I got an offer to play in Keystone where Sapphire goes to school, so that's where I'm going. We're trying to get a dorm together an everything,"

Cynthia smiled softly, Amethyst couldn't find a hint of jealousy in it. "…I wish I could be strong enough to handle a long-distance relationship. My ex and I broke up because of it, she moved halfway across the world and I haven't spoken to her since," She mumbled.

"It sucks, her friends were my friends, so when we broke things off it was like they didn't want anything to do with me," Cynthia sighed. "…they acted like I didn't exist. It just hurt when they avoid me in the halls," She cleared her throat. "That's why I can't wait for college, I'll get to meet new people and reinvent myself. That's why I was so pushy to hang out with you again, Ruby, it's been a while since I've had a good friend."

Amethyst swallowed down her guilt; all the mean things she had said about the green-eyed teen. "How long since you two broke up?"

"Five months, we broke up before senior year started," She confessed with a frown. "Our summer was bittersweet, and I wasn't exactly thrilled when she didn't even want to try giving long distance a shot,"

Jasper shook her head. "Man, tonight you are going to get so wasted with me! I'm going to make sure I get you laid," She said, sounding a lot like that immature sophomore Ruby remembered.

Amethyst cheered. "Screw the game, we're all getting drunk! Except for Ruby, she's the designated driver so give her your keys once we get there Cynthia," She couldn't wait to get to the party now.

Ruby pouted. "Come on, I don't want to babysit all night."

"I'll try not to get too plastered," Cynthia laughed before smirking. "Is Marceline dating anyone? Because if she's not then I can easily sneak into her dressing room and—"

Ruby chuckled, tears in her eyes. "Uhm, I don't think Bonnie would like that. She's nice but if you mess with her woman, then she'll go off,"

Cynthia frowned. "…is she that pink haired chick who was on one of her album covers? They're serious?"

"Very," Jasper huffed. "I tried flirting with Bonnie but it didn't go as well as I would have hoped,"

Ruby perked up. "Her bandmates are very single though. Well, Keila is at least,"

"Hmm, we'll see where the night takes us," Cynthia replied with a loose grin, speeding up a little as the turnpike sign approached.

* * *

Jasper patted her curly haired friend on the back once they entered the building. "Well, I'm going to look for the booze, so please stop me if you catch me with my hand shoved up some chick's skirt."

"I think it would be pointless at that point, but sure," Ruby said with a disgusted face as she shoved her friend away. "I'll come find you after Marceline's set is finished," She shouted over the roaring voices, already losing Jasper to the crowd.

They had arrived just in time to see Marceline perform, she would be coming out after this kid who was singing about a fire inside of his body (she wasn't great at song interpretation). Marceline told her that she had been friends with him since middle school and just wanted to give him a shot. His name was Finn and he wore a blue shirt with blue jeans, black shoes, and a white bear hat over his head; Ruby swore she could see blonde hair peeking out.

Another guy was on stage playing the guitar behind him. He was dressed in an all-orange sweat suit, even his backwards cap was a bright tangerine.

When they first drove up to the large warehouse, the line leading inside had been long but Marceline had put their names on the list so they could ease by. That's when they were hit with the familiar smell of sweaty bodies moving against each other, bottles of liquor being passed around and the music in the air.

 _'Cause I think you're great,_

 _I wanna be your mate_

 _Or maybe go on a date._

"The talent could be better," Amethyst gestured to the skinny boy nervously singing into the microphone. "I'm getting something to drink, but I'll meet you backstage later, okay?"

Ruby nodded her head and watched the cubby girl walk towards the drinks on the other side of the room. "I'm going to see Marceline backstage and watch the performance from there, are you going to be alright on your own?" She asked, toying with the keys Cynthia handed to her before they even stepped out of the car; could never be too careful about drunk driving.

"I'll be fine," Cynthia gave her a soft smile. "I'm going to hit the dance floor, I want to be there to rock out to her new song," She waved over her shoulder before she too got lost in the crowd.

Ruby waved back before pushing through the crowd, she headed towards the stage where she knew Marceline would be.

 _'Cause it feels like there's a fire inside my body,_

 _Like there's a fire inside my heart,_

 _It's like this fire is gonna consume me,_

 _If I keep waiting for this thing to start,_

When Ruby managed to get to the side of the stage she nodded at Marceline. "Hey Marce," She spoke to the older woman who was dressed in a simple red dress and black high boots; her hair was straight, but just as wild as ever.

"Ruby, what's up man," She pulled the teen into a hug before breaking away with a grin, she gestured to the stage. "How do you like the new young talent?"

The red eyed girl looked behind Marceline to the younger boys who were performing.

 _Ohh, I feel like I'm all warmed up inside,_

 _I fell all warmed up inside,_

 _I feel all warmed up insi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ide._

"The crowd seems to approve of them," Ruby crossed her arms with a shrug. "But I think they're warmed up for you to blast them away."

Marceline brushed it off with a brush of her hand. "They can wait for a while, I haven't seen you since the Christmas bash but I did see Sapphire a week ago, does she know you're here?" She asked casually, leaning on the amp behind her.

"…I didn't get the chance to tell her yet, it was sort of a last-minute thing," Ruby felt her face grow hot. "You literally texted me about it this morning and I wasn't going to come but one of my new friends is a huge fan of yours and she's never been to one of your concerts before."

The long-haired woman snickered. "Does this happen to be the homewrecker Rose has been warning people about?"

"What?" Ruby's eyes darkened. "Has Rose been telling people that Cynthia is a homewrecker, for real?"

Marceline shook her head, black locks following her lead. "Not shouting it from the roof top but she texted a few close friends who live around here to be on the look-out. She sent it to Bonnie, that's how I found out about it,"

Ruby swallowed. If Bonnie got the message, then there was no doubt in her mind Sapphire had heard about it as well. Sure, they had talked about it last night but now Sapphire was hearing it from everyone but her, she had to explain things.

"Look, I'm just saying," Marceline began. "If Bonnibel was getting all close with some lady at college, who could talk to her about science stuff, and my friends were sending me warning texts then I would be all over the situation." She grabbed her guitar from the stand and began walking to the stage. "I know you aren't that kind of person but some people will take advantage of your kindness, and misinterpret it."

She pointed a finger at Ruby. "You and Sapphire are like the cutest couple so don't screw this up,"

Without another word, the singer was out on stage to greet the awaiting crowd. Ruby rubbed her thumb along her phone in thought, she pulled it out and set up a message for Sapphire.

Marceline began her song with a gesture to the band. On the drums was one of the singers' new friends, LSP, and on the piano, was Guy holding it down.

 _I don't know what to do without you,_

 _I don't know where to put my hands,_

 _I've been trying to lay my head down,_

 _But I'm writing this at 3 AM_

"She's killing it, man," Finn shouted a little bit too loud in Ruby's ear, he smiled. "Sorry but I'm just super excited to be here, you know?"

Ruby shut her phone screen off and placed it back into her pocket, somehow, she knew this kid was a talker. "Yeah, you did good earlier. I'm Ruby,"

"Finn," He grinned, she took notice of the adorable gap in his mouth. "And thanks, Jake and I spent a lot of time getting everything together." Finn continued. "Are you good friends with Marcy?"

Ruby nodded. "My girlfriend goes to college with hers—"

"Awe, sweet, you know Bubblegum too?" Finn smiled even brighter. "I live around this area, so if you're ever in the neighborhood and want to play some videogames or hit up one of our rehearsals, just give me a call."

The curly-haired teen smiled softly, he was a somewhat open book but she could tell he kept things hidden. "Sure, that'd be okay I guess," She handed him her phone so he could put his number in it.

Finn cheered. "My brother, Jake, makes the best bacon-pancakes!"

 _I don't need the world to see_

 _That I've been the best I can be, but_

 _I don't think I could stand to be,_

 _Where you don't see me._

"Finn, what are you doing, let's hit the dance floor," The boy in all-orange suddenly appeared behind them.

The blue-eyed boy handed Ruby the phone back. "Sorry, but she knows Bonnie and I wanted her number just in case she ever came back to town again." He gestured to the other boy. "This is my brother, Jake,"

Ruby waved weakly. "I'm Ruby,"

"Well come on man, Marceline is playing a fast song after this and I can't wait to show off my moves," Jake said before running back to the dance floor.

Finn grabbed the short girls arm, grinning. "Come dance with us, it's super boring to be back here all alone."

"I shouldn't—" Ruby began.

"Please," Finn begged.

Ruby huffed, she supposed it was better than watching her friends have fun. "…fine,"

"Whoo, let's go!" Finn cheered as he tugged her along; she couldn't resist smiling back at him as they pushed through the crowd.

 _And autumn comes when you're not yet done,_

 _With the summer passing by, but_

 _I don't think I could stand to be,_

 _Where you don't see me._

* * *

Amethyst tossed her second cup in the trash and headed out to the dance floor with a huff. Marceline had long since finished her songs and now Lars, how he got this gig she'll never know, was up on stage singing some dumb song. The crowd seemed to be into it but she tuned it out and searched for her friend. They had class tomorrow and it was getting late, the drive wasn't a short one either.

She couldn't even get drunk; her mind was all over the place tonight.

"What the hell," Her eyes hardened as she watched Ruby dance with those two guys who had been on stage earlier.

But they weren't the problem. Cynthia, fulfilling her promise and getting plastered, was dancing provocatively against her friend. She was glad to see Ruby trying to pull the girl away, her disapproving shouts were nothing compared to the music, and Amethyst decided to intervene.

And by intervene, she meant snatching Cynthia by her hood. The green-eyed girl yelped, latching onto the chubby girl drunkenly, her eyes glazed over.

"Hey Ame, want to dance with me?" She smirked deviously. "But you'll have to wait in line for your turn,"

Amethyst rolled her eyes, nodding her head to a relieved Ruby. "This is why we don't do, this," She said with a gesture to the drunk girl wrapped around her side. "Get Jasper so we can get out of this dump," The chubby girl didn't wait for an answer and made her way to the faraway exit.

Ruby ran a hand through her thick locks and faced the boys. "I have to head out, but you two get home safe and I'll let you know whenever I'm in town,"

Finn waved happily. "All right cool, I'll send you the pictures I took tonight once I get back!" He pulled out his phone, grinning. "My snapchat story is going to be awesome!" Ruby heard him shout as she walked over to the drinks to find Jasper.

Ruby snickered, finding a very sober Jasper leaning against the wall. "This night was a bust for everyone, let's head home,"

"…Lapis called me before I could even pick up a cup," Jasper shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. "So, this night was ruined for me from the beginning."

The shorter teen nodded. "Amethyst had a similar problem. I was bored until Finn and Jake pulled me to the floor," Ruby winced. "But then Cynthia started dancing all over me, she is so drunk right now and I think she threw up on herself."

Jasper smirked. "It's her car,"

"That it is," Ruby said as she pulled out the keys.

* * *

The ride back was just as long as the ride there, Ruby would have fallen asleep if it wasn't for Jasper who kept her awoke. Amethyst was no help, she was knocked out in the back next to Cynthia. When Ruby reached her house, she realized something.

"Shit," Ruby groaned, looking in the back where Cynthia slept. "She's too knocked out to drive home, and I don't even know where she lives." She looked at Jasper with pleading eyes. "She can't stay at my place,"

Jasper shook her head. "I have enough trouble with Lapis staying at my place. She's going to yell at me for getting home so late, imagine how worse it'd be if I brought this broad home,"

"I'll take one for the team," Amethyst spoke as if she were wide awake and not sleep for the entire ride. "My parents are out and Pearl won't be over, she's still in the hospital I think,"

Ruby grinned. "You're the best, you and Jasper live right next to each other so just help Amethyst carry her into the house," She pulled her seatbelt off and sighed. "…you guys were right, about me hanging out with Cynthia like I don't have a girlfriend. I wouldn't like this if Sapphire was doing it so I'm going to tone it down, focus on sports and school,"

And her relationship.

"I think that's best," Jasper smiled, happy her friend was finally making some sense. "Goodnight Ruby,"

Amethyst waved. "Yeah, we'll see you tomorrow,"

"You guys are the best," Ruby waved, watching them drive away before she unlocked the front door and stepped inside.

Snowflake greeted her at the door. Ruby would usually let her go outside but she was far too exhausted. So, with an impassive pat on Snowflakes head, Ruby trudged her tired body up the stairs. She pulled off her sweat shirt, remaining in a white tee and jeans. Kicking off her shoes at the door, she flopped onto her comfortable bed.

Ruby thought about sending Sapphire a goodnight text so she pulled out her phone. She frowned when she saw she got a text from an unknown number, but relaxed when she saw it was from Finn.

She smiled.

 **Finn: Hey, here are the pictures and videos I took! My snapchat story got so many views!**

Her smile was wiped clean as she scrolled through the five messages. The first three videos were of her dancing with Finn and Jake, the other one was a picture of her and the brothers but the last one made her heart stop.

It was a video of her and Cynthia dancing. The way Finn took the video made it seem like Ruby was pulling the green-eyed girl closer instead of away.

The first thing that popped into her mind was to delete everything and tell Finn not to show this to anyone. It shouldn't be a problem, the only person on his story that she knew was Marceline, and she wouldn't say anything, and Bonnie—

Ruby dropped her phone to the ground. "Fuck,"

* * *

Rose gasped loudly beside Greg, the younger man frowned as he bounced Steven on his lap. "What's wrong?"

"The homewrecker strikes again!" Rose replayed Finn's snapchat story where Cynthia and Ruby were dancing. "This guy named Finn, he was my pin pal for a middle school project. We exchanged numbers and have kept in touch but nothing serious, I follow him on everything. He must have been at a party with Ruby,"

Greg shook his head. "Ruby wouldn't cheat on Sapphire, there must be some explanation."

Rose huffed, starting a group chat with people in her contacts. "I'll get at Ruby tomorrow for being an idiot, but right now I have to warn my ladies about this woman!"

Greg knew better than to stop his girlfriend so he scooped Steven up and walked towards the kitchen. "Mommies having a moment Steven, so we're going to get out of the way before we get burned,"

Steven cooed, a giggle on his lips.

* * *

Pearl was still awake around 2 am when she got a text from Rose about the mysterious homewrecker striking again. She didn't know exactly what it was about, just knew her name was Cynthia and to watch out for green hair.

"Is Rose sending you these dumbs messages too?" Peridot asked as she walked over to the other bed in the hotel room they shared. "I'm not even dating anyone,"

Pearl sat up against her pillows with a frown. "So, you and Alexandra are done?"

Peridot shrugged. "Yeah, she's kind of standoffish and I'm trying to focus on my career. It was fun while it lasted though," She jumped into her bed and nodded at the skinny woman. "What about you, have you spoken to Amethyst about any of this? Does she even know you're out of the hospital?"

"I'm going to her house first thing in the morning before school starts," Pearl confirmed. "My clock is set and everything."

The shorter girl raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think you should call her ahead of time before showing up like that?"

Pearl turned the light off with a shrug. "It's not like she has anything to hide,"

* * *

"Can we take a break now? I feel like my brain is going to explode with all these equations we haven't solved yet," Ronaldo groaned from his spot on the opposite end of the table, Sapphire and Bubblegum were seated on the other side with textbooks and papers scattered all over the library table. "I didn't even know the library stayed open so late," His wrist watch read, 2: 15.

Bubblegum shook her head, glasses falling to her nose lazily. "They stay open 24/7 during finals week,"

"I can't wait for winter break next week," Sapphire leaned back into her chair with a heavy sigh, she rubbed her temples. "A whole month of relaxation with my friends and family." She shrugged. "…maybe not my family,"

Ronaldo chuckled as Bubblegum took the time to check her phone. "What, I thought they totally got along with Ruby last time."

"They have their moments, but I'd rather not stay locked up in that house with them," Sapphire bit on the end of her pen in thought. "…is it bad that these Chemistry equations won't leave my mind alone?"

The blonde grinned, tossing an Oreo into his awaiting mouth. "I believe junk food helps alleviate the throbbing," He handed over the box and reached into his pocket and pulled out gummy bears. "I'm telling you, college was invented to make us fat,"

Sapphire couldn't help but agree with a mouthful of Oreos.

"Hey, Marceline had a gig tonight and Ruby must have been there because she's in Finn's snapchat story," Bubblegum hummed, showing her screen to Sapphire who leaned in. "I didn't know she knew Finn, he's like a good childhood friend," She smiled softly.

Sapphire frowned, whispering to herself. "…I didn't even know she was at the concert."

They had spoken the other night about the picture on Ruby's story, but it seemed harmless to Sapphire so she told her girlfriend it wasn't a big deal; she could have other friends besides Jasper and Amethyst.

She just wished Ruby would have mentioned going to a concert. Come to think of it, she hadn't received a single message from Ruby all day.

"That's cute," Bubblegum smiled at the picture of Ruby, Jake, and Finn; they were all smiling into the camera. "We should all get together sometime and—oh," Her face flushed and her mouth hung open, she exited out of the video as quick as possible; hoping Sapphire hadn't seen it.

Ronaldo looked up, chewing his candy as he frowned at the silent women. "What's wrong?"

Sapphire shook her head, lips set into a straight line. "…I just saw my supposed girlfriend dancing up against said girl who was just on her story yesterday, nothing serious." She chuckled darkly. "She didn't even call, text, me about her going to a concert either. Instead I find out like this,"

Maybe she should have taken Rose's texts more seriously. It didn't bother her at first, but now things were getting out of hand. How was she supposed to feel when some random chick was hitting on her girlfriend while she was miles away and couldn't do anything about it.

But she knew Ruby would never do something like this, right? If she had doubts about their relationship, then Sapphire was sure she would have said something earlier.

"I knew we should have heeded Rose's messages," Ronaldo jammed his fist into his palm with a frown. "We're going down there this Friday, all of us, to speak to this chick."

Bubblegum tried to be the voice of reason. "Wh-what, no! She just needs to talk to Ruby, I'm sure it can all be explained without any confrontation."

Sapphire clenched her pen tightly in her hand. "No one is going home with me Friday, I'll handle this after finals,"

"But Sapphire," Bubblegum began. "You can't just ignore Ruby until Friday—"

Sapphire was close to snapping as she turned to the next problem on her assignment sheet. "I have finals tomorrow afternoon and I'm not putting my studying on hold to deal with this bullshit. We'll talk when I'm ready," She said stubbornly before going back to her work.

Ronaldo awkwardly looked between the two women before deciding he should get something done as well. Bubblegum was about to follow his lead when she got a text from Marceline.

 **Marcy: Hey Bonnie, whatever you do, don't let Sapphire watch Finn's snapchat story!**

Bubblegum groaned and sent an instant reply.

 **Bonnie: I wish you would have said something earlier…**

* * *

 **Hope this makes up for not updating in a while, but I'm off for winter break so I'll try to post more chapters. I really liked this one, despite everything going on. I know it barely involved Sapphire's perspective just like last chapter but I'll work on it. You probably won't see how she's taking it until later on in the series.**

 **Thanks for reviewing, it means a lot that I'm giving you guys joy with my stories. I love all the feedback and I try to respond to most of the questions on my A03 account. Hope you enjoyed, no Christmas chapter for this series because it won't be ready in time but I have a Korra/Asami story out right now revolving around Christmas.**

 **Happy holidays if I don't update again.**


	10. Thursday

**PREVIOUSLY ON GOING THE DISTANCE:** Ruby puts her relationship with Sapphire in jeopardy when she goes to a party with her friends, and tries to hide the truth before it can get out. Amethyst helps Ruby keep her dirty little secret for the night without knowing about a certain visitor who will come knocking at her door with questions.

Meanwhile, Sapphire has a short talk with her mother.

* * *

 **Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 10:** _Thursday_

"I can't believe a passed her exam," The blonde-haired man all but squealed as he opened Sapphire's door without knocking, a grin on his face as he plopped down on the edge of her bed. "All of that studying you and Bonnie put me through actually paid off; we have to do this every semester!" He demanded, turning his attention to the blue haired girl who was at her desk typing up an essay.

She was outlining an essay she would need to attach to an upcoming scholarship. "And now we can take the weekend off to relax from those exams," Sapphire all but sighed before she saved her writing progress and closed her laptop. "I've already packed my bags into Bonnie's car, we were actually just waiting for you to get your results back so we can get on the road."

The larger man jumped up from the mattress with a smile, he nodded to the door. "My stuff is ready, I ran into Bonnie on my way here and packed my stuff in the trunk so we're all set." He held the door open for Sapphire as she pulled on her heavy coat. "So, we're staying at your place when we get to Beach City right?"

At first, she was wary about bringing Ronaldo home with her, but since his family is too far away for a short visit she decided to bring him with her. She didn't want him staying on campus all alone for the weekend.

Sapphire nodded, adjusting her hair so it wouldn't get caught in her zipper. "Yes, and no," She began, trailing down the stairs with her friend beside her. "Bonnie is dropping you and I off at my parent's house but she's going to stay with Marceline for the weekend since her band isn't on tour right now. But Bonnie will be back Sunday night to pick us up again,"

Ronaldo hummed. "So, you're leaving your car here?"

"It's easier than both of us driving," Sapphire shrugged, shoving her hands into her pockets as the cold breeze hit when they stepped outside. "If we need to go anywhere I'll just take my mom's car or something,"

The blonde man scratched the back of his neck, trying to find a way to ease into the conversation he was about to start. "…are—are you going to Ruby's basketball game tomorrow night when we get there? It's the last game of the finals and they could be champions and have a chance at getting rings," He glanced over at his friend apprehensively.

Sapphire pursed her lips. "Of course, I'm going," She rubbed her temples in aggravation. "Look, of course I still care and love her but, it's just…the way she's been acting, the lies, and she's stopped calling and talking to me," She glared at the dry ground beneath her boots. "I'm just beginning to think this long-distance thing isn't for us, you know?"

"But you guys have been together for almost three years," He argued. "If anyone can get through this, then it's you too!" He begged, not wanting his ship to sink.

Sapphire shrugged impassively when they finally reached Bonnie who was standing beside her car, waving to them happily. Before Sapphire could greet her, Ronaldo zoomed past her and attached himself to the science major.

"She's thinking about breaking up Rupphire!" He shouted as if the world was ending.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, mouth a gape. "Wh-what, seriously? You don't think you guys can make it work?"

Sapphire resisted the urge to slap her forehead; Ronaldo was worse than Rose when he got juicy information. "I was just thinking aloud, okay? I haven't decided on anything yet, not before I speak with her after the big game,"

"I think that's the best thing to do, just talk everything out once things cools down," Bonnie agreed, shoving the whining man off her shoulder. "Get off me Ronaldo, just for that you're sitting in the back!" She said as she opened the driver's door and started the car up.

He huffed and climbed into the seat behind Sapphire before he grinned again. "Man, I can't wait to meet your friends Sapphire! I want to meet Rose the most though, and maybe see baby Steven," He smiled.

Sapphire shook her head, groaning. "Right, I forgot about that. I'm going to speak to Rose when I get there, I have to tell her to stop sending out those texts about that homewrecker or whatever," She huffed, thinking back to the ton of messages her best friend had sent her throughout the week.

Bonnie shrugged, backing out of her park with practiced ease. "…I think they're helpful," She whispered to herself, earning a glare when Sapphire caught the words anyway. "Well they are, someone has to warn people,"

"No, I have to stop her soon," Sapphire winced. "Besides, I think she might start making posters,"

Ronaldo laughed. "Oh, now I've got to meet her! She sounds great, just to make sure time flies," He began, stretching out fully in the backseat. "I'm knocking out for the remainder of the drive, let me know if we pass Rosie's house on the way there!"

Sapphire flinched at the nickname she knows Rose will love.

* * *

"Ruby owes me big time for this," Amethyst mumbled, glaring at the green haired teen who was currently drooling on one of her mother's couch pillows fruitfully. "That's just disgusting when someone else does it," She growled, turning on her heal and heading to the kitchen.

It was nine in the morning when she woke up feeling refreshed. She had enough absences to skip another full day of school so she didn't have to show up until three for basketball practice, and they weren't going to do much there because of the upcoming game. It wasn't until she was halfway down her stairs, pancakes, and bacon on her mind, did she hear the loud snoring coming from her living room.

Seeing the mess of Cynthia sprawled out on her couch, green hair tousled and tangled, drool flooding from her mouth, did her morning take a turn for the worst.

She had warned Ruby not to get involved with this chick, and now it was coming back to bite both of them on the butt. Ruby having to deal with her own foolish actions and how they affected her relationship with Sapphire, and Amethyst having to find a way to get the woman out of her house nicely.

If she were a year or two younger, she recalls a time when she would have kicked the person out on her doorstep with the clothes they showed up in. But alas, she was mature now; despite the immature thoughts she conjured up when she contemplated drawing on the sleeping woman's face.

She was halfway through flipping a golden-brown pancake when her doorbell sounded loudly throughout the house. She half hoped it would wake up the freeloader on her couch, or be Ruby on the other side offering to take Cynthia off her hands; but she knew Ruby was finished with letting this woman ruin her life.

"This better be a good reason to stop me from making pancakes," Amethyst growled.

Not a lot of people knew of her cooking skills, because most of them assumed she couldn't possess the ability. She only told those close to her like Ruby and Jasper. Pearl found out when she woke up to the smell of breakfast one morning she had stayed over, and ever since, whenever she's over, she gets her girlfriend to cook her one of her favorite meals.

"What?" Amethyst groaned, spatula in one hand with a cooking apron covering her white shirt and grey sweats. "Why are you interrupting my—P-pearl?" She squeaked, eyes widening as she looked her girlfriend up and down.

Her girlfriend who was supposed to be in the hospital until further notice.

"Wh-what are you doing here? I thought you were still in the hospital," Amethyst frowned, trying to see if she missed any important information. "How'd you even get here?" She asked, gesturing to the wheel chair her girlfriend was currently in.

Pearl gestured to the black car parked in the driveway where Amethyst just now noticed Peridot sitting in the front seat. Amethyst sent a quick wave to the shorter girl before turning her gaze back to her girlfriend.

"What's going on? Why didn't you tell me they let you out, I would have come and picked you up," Amethyst began to argue.

Pearl shook her head with a soft smile. "No, you were there with me all week and I know you have a game tomorrow so I just wanted to give you a break," She tried looking past her girlfriends shoulder, eyes darkening with hunger when she took in her appearance. "Are you cooking something?"

"Y-yeah," Amethyst swallowed, before groaning at how rude she was being. "I'm an idiot, do you want to come in for some food?"

Pearl smirked, placing her hands on her wheels as she prepared to push forward. "That's the plan, Ame. And I have to talk to you about a few things as well," She said the last part a little less confidently.

It wasn't until she had helped her girlfriend get through the door did she recall the unwanted guest currently sprawled out on her couch. Amethyst closed the front door and basically sprinted past her girlfriend and came to a stop in the empty living room. Relief flooded her body before anxiety followed as she wondered where Cynthia had gone.

"Oh yes, I meant to ask you," Pearl began speaking from behind as she made her way into the living room; not questioning Amethyst on her strange behavior. "Whose car is that parked outside your house?"

Amethyst gripped her spatula tighter, swallowing loudly. "Uhm…" She contemplated lying to Pearl, but after past experiences and misunderstandings she decided to come out with it. "Have you been getting Rose's texts about that so-called homewrecker around town?" She began.

"Yes," Pearl snorted, leaning back in her chair slightly. "Beware the green hair she says. Why are you bringing it up, have you seen her or something?" She asked, not at all worried.

Amethyst teased the cooking utensil in her grasp nervously. "W-well, funny story I actually—"

"Hey Amethyst," Cynthia chose this moment to walk down the stairs; hair a mess and clothes askew. "I was wondering where I was, I got scared for a second and worried I went home with some freak last night. Glad I didn't, oh," She stopped at the last step when she caught a sight of Pearl. "…am I interrupting something?"

Amethyst sucked in a breath. "This is my girlfriend Pearl, Pearl this is Cynthia," She swallowed again, trying to catch Pearl's eye but they were stuck on the green haired girl on the staircase. "Ruby, Jasper, Cynthia and I went to a concert last night and she was too drunk to drive home so I let her stay on my couch," She explained quickly before Pearl could get the wrong idea.

Cynthia ran a hand through her tousled hair and glanced at her watch on her wrist, she cursed. "Shoot, I'm late for class, I can't miss another day of school." She grabbed her car keys from the living room table and jogged over to the door. "Sorry about last night and thanks for letting me stay the night, let Ruby know I'll call her later. It was nice meeting you Pearl," She smiled politely, as if she weren't caught sleeping on her girlfriend's couch.

When the door slammed shut, Pearl turned her heavy gaze to Amethyst. "…is that the homewrecker Rose was talking about?"

Amethyst nodded. "Yeah, but it's not what it looks like. I only let her stay here because Ruby didn't want her sleeping over at her house; Sapphire was already upset about the pictures and videos she saw Ruby and Cynthia in together,"

"That's the one who was in Ruby's snapchat?" Pearl gaped. "…well, I'm not thrilled she slept over at your place but I can understand you wanting to help Ruby out. She is going to stop hanging out with that girl, right?"

Amethyst nodded, glad her girlfriend was so understanding. "That's the plan. I just hope Sapphire gives Ruby some slack, but so far she hasn't responded to any of the messages Ruby has given her,"

"It's Ruby and Sapphire, of course they'll stay together," Pearl said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

The basketball player smiled sadly. "I hope you're right," She shook her head. "Are you staying long, or are you planning on keeping Peridot waiting outside all day?" She teased.

Pearl shook her head. "I'm not staying long, I just wanted to give you some news before you heard it from someone else,"

"What is it?" Amethyst asked, making her way to the kitchen where she hoped her pancakes weren't burning.

Pearl followed behind slowly. "…I know I won't be able to do ballet for a year or so, but I still love it and I want to be around it. Peridot is doing a great job in the photography field at Rainy's studio and I want to travel with her and the team to learn how to take photos and see how their recitals go,"

"So, I'd be shadowing Peridot and Rainy would be paying us for the photos, and pay for our hotel expenses," Pearl paused. "I plan on leaving as soon as I can walk on crutches, which won't take as long as you think; I'm already starting rehab next week,"

Amethyst turned around, leaning against the sink with a small smile. "…I think you should rest a little more before jumping into a new career but I also know how much you love ballet, so I'll support you." She concluded.

"…really?" Pearl asked, happiness erupting on her face.

"Of course, you support me with basketball so I can do the same. I know the distance won't be easy but we've been doing a great job with it anyway, so why not," Amethyst placed her spatula down and walked over to Pearl, grinning. "I'm just glad you told me instead of just doing it,"

Pearl welcomed the chaste kiss to her forehead, a soft smile gracing her face. "Thanks for understanding,"

"Thanks for not running Cynthia over with your wheelchair in a jealous rampage." Amethyst snapped back, a smirk crawling up at the thought.

Pearl let out a boisterous laugh. "I thought about it,"

* * *

Sapphire let out a heavy sigh once the car stopped right in front of her house. Her phone had died not even halfway through the ride to Beach City; she assumed she forgot to charge it when she was writing an essay the night before. So, without a phone she was forced to talk with Ronaldo when he woke up halfway through the ride to talk about his theory on rock people.

Despite how insane it sounded, it was an interesting topic of discussion and the evidence behind it was somewhat solid.

"Thanks for the ride Bonnie, tell Marceline I said hello," Sapphire said, leaning against the door as Ronaldo grabbed their bags; she tried to help but he insisted. "And drive carefully, I heard there might be a snowstorm; hopefully I don't get snowed in at my parents' house," The mere thought of it almost brought tears to her eyes.

Bubblegum laughed softly. "It shouldn't be too bad. I'll make sure to keep in touch, and Marcy is staying at a hotel a few minutes away so I don't have too much of a drive ahead of me. I'll see you guys Sunday night,"

"Okay, thanks again," Sapphire said as she waved goodbye, waiting until Bubblegum was out of sight. "…okay, we have a guest room right beside my room, you can put your things in there," Sapphire said as she walked towards the front door, lights left on.

Ronaldo barely got a chance to answer before the front door was yanked open and a tall man with short, wavy, blue hair greeted them with open arms. "Sapphy!"

Sapphire rolled her eyes but jumped into her father's arms before pulling away. "I was here like a few weeks ago, dad, it's not like I haven't seen you in years,"

"Yeah, well, it feels like that sometimes," Aero immediately grabbed a bag from Ronaldo and helped carry it inside. "You must be Ronaldo, I've heard so much about you and your theory on rock people. I'm Aero Fields," He introduced himself with a charming grin.

Sapphire groaned. "Dad, please don't get him started on—"

"You know Mr. Fields," Ronaldo spoke with a smile. "I brought pamphlets about my research and I would love to go over it with you,"

Aero nodded eagerly, ready to dig his teeth into something new. "I'll show you to your room and you can tell me about the basics,"

Sapphire tuned the conversation out as they headed upstairs while she walked into the kitchen to greet her mother. Alice was in the process of setting up the kitchen table when her daughter walked in with a heavy face.

Alice snickered. "I can assume your father is being himself and trying to learn about the rock people theory you told me Ronaldo is obsessed with?"

"Can I skip dinner tonight? I had to hear about it on the ride over, and I think my ears might bleed if I have to listen to it at dinner too," Sapphire huffed, following protocol, and placing the silverware out by a plate. "What did you make?" She asked, changing the subject.

Alice hummed. "Baked chicken with vegetables and mashed potatoes, nothing special,"

"I live on a college campus where the closest thing to a homemade meal are the cookies they sell on the side," Sapphire resisted the urge to pluck a string bean from the steaming pot as she walked by; her mother would have scowled her for it all night. "To me, this is very special." She concluded.

Alice shook her head with a smile, glad her daughter was home for the weekend. "Oh, I didn't know if Ruby was coming over or not so I set another plate just in—"

"She's not coming over," Sapphire winced at her cold response, praying her mother didn't ask for details; she was the last person she wanted to talk with this about.

A few months ago, her mother despised the thought of her and Ruby together, imagine her reaction when Sapphire told her they were having problems. A whole lot of _I told you so's_ would be all she heard for the duration of her visit.

"Oh," Her mother paused, looking down at the plate she was about to put down. "…is it because of the big game tomorrow? I suppose she is going to need to get some rest—"

Sapphire huffed. "It's because I didn't tell her I'm in town, all right? Can we just drop it?" She snapped, crossing her arms as she leaned back into the kitchen counter.

The angry look on her mother's face caused her arms to fall limp at her side, her mother did not tolerate disrespect. "Watch your tone, I know you have a lot going on with school and I have no problem with you staying here as long as you respect me and my rules." She released a calming breath, but the hard look in her eyes didn't fade away. "What did she do?" She demanded, as if she were ready to hunt Ruby down.

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Why do you assume she did something?"

"Please, she would be knocking at our door in a heartbeat to come see you if she knew you were in town. Ruby is either not here because you didn't tell her you're in town because she did something, or you did something," Alice began, voice lowering. "What's going on? Are you two not speaking?"

Sapphire sighed, she was sick of having this conversation with people. "She's been hanging out with this girl lately, and I'm not jealous or anything because I have no reason to be; I know Ruby isn't that kind of person. I'm just frustrated with the lies, and how I have to find these things out through other people,"

"She should be telling me what's going on instead of having me be blindsided around my friends," Sapphire bit her lower lip. "I didn't tell her I was in town because I just needed time to think about what I'm going to say when I see her tomorrow, because right now I don't know what I want,"

Alice spoke softly. "Do you still love her?"

"Of course I do," Sapphire frowned as if she were being accused of something.

Alice smiled weakly. "Then you should at least let her know you're in town and that you'll speak to her after the game tomorrow. Just to let her know you aren't completely giving up on what you two have, and that you need time to think things through," She walked over and placed a soft kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Go upstairs and call her, then come down and wash your hands for dinner,"

"…thanks mom," Sapphire finally decided with, following her mother's instructions, and made her way to the staircase.

She made sure to be extra quiet as she passed by the guest room where she could hear her father and Ronaldo going on about rock people excitedly. When she managed to make it to her room, she appreciated the fact that they managed to find time in between their discussion to place her bags on her bed.

She closed the door behind her and made her way to her charger, waiting for it to turn on before she could get ready to call Ruby; still not sure what she would tell her exactly.

* * *

Ruby had been having one of the worst days of her life. She had woken up late for school and barely made it to third period when she remembered she had to take her psychology test she forgot to study for. She knew most of the material and hoped for at least a B before the rest of the day dissolved into boring lectures and her sending messages to Sapphire begging her to respond. Not a single response.

With everything on her mind, her performance in practice wasn't her best. She was too distracted with wondering if Sapphire was upset with her, if she was purposely ignoring her calls or if she was even going to the big game tomorrow night. She was lucky practice was short and they didn't go over much.

Amethyst had berated her once again to leave Cynthia alone when she told her about how Pearl caught the girl in her house this morning. She was glad Pearl understood the situation and promised not to put Amethyst in that place again. Ruby even went as far to start ignoring Cynthia's texts asking to hang out.

She was finished with Cynthia acting like what she was doing was all right. Even if they weren't doing anything wrong, the way they went about doing it was.

"I'll see you guys at the game tomorrow? I assume you two are skipping classes?" Ruby asked, phone on speaker, as she pulled a red long sleeved shirt over her curly head.

Jasper laughed on the other line. "Yeah, Lapis and I are going out for breakfast to celebrate making it so far into the finals,"

"Yeah," Amethyst spoke up. "Pearl and I are staying in, I'm cooking her something." She paused. "…do you know if Sapphire is in town or not?"

Ruby sat down on her bed, staring off into her empty room where silence surrounded her. With her mother gone again and Snowflake asleep at her feet, the lonely feeling was at its highest. It didn't make her feel better about Sapphire's muteness either.

She shook her head. "No, I haven't heard anything from her. But I might stay home tomorrow and just get some extra sleep, nothing serious. Maybe take Snowflake for a walk,"

"All right," Amethyst said, not wanting to get into it again when she knew Ruby was done talking about it. "I'm going to knock out with some Netflix then. I'll see you guys tomorrow,"

Jasper said. "Same, night guys,"

"Yeah," Ruby responded weakly before hanging the phone up and falling back into her bed.

She was five minutes into starring up at her white ceiling when she began contemplating whether she was hungry or not when her phone began vibrating with a call. Assuming it was Jasper or Amethyst calling about something they forgot, she answered without looking at the caller.

"Yeah," Ruby asked with a sigh, fingers wrapped around a particularly tight curl at the top of her head.

The other side was quiet for a few seconds before a familiar voice spoke up. "Hey,"

Ruby sat up so fast she startled Snowflake into leaving the room with a huff; she ignored her pets exit and swallowed thickly. "Hey, I didn't think you got any of my calls," She said, voice soft and somewhat lost.

She had been waiting to hear back from Sapphire all day and now she had no idea what she wanted to say.

"Yeah, my phone died on the way over here," Ruby felt her heart speed up. "I didn't have my charger on me and I just got home an hour ago, before I got situated and turned it back on."

Ruby couldn't seem to sit still as she got up from her bed and began pacing. "So, you're in town for the weekend? Did you drive by yourself?" She wanted to kick herself for trying to make conversation like she didn't have explaining to do.

Sapphire's sigh on the other side let her know it was indeed a wrong direction to take it. "Uhm no, Bubblegum drove me and Ronaldo to my parents' house before she went to see Marceline. Look, I was just calling to let you know I'm in town and that I'll see you after the game,"

Ruby nodded, she was happy about Sapphire going to the game but was still upset about the little progress they were making. "Can we—"

"I'll talk to you after the game, okay?" Sapphire cut her off, a rustling on the other line followed by a male's voice reached her ears. "I have to go—"

Ruby swallowed. "Wait, Sapphire, I'm sorry about—"

"I know you are," Was the curt response before the ending of the line met her.

She contemplated calling her back, but at the same time understood Sapphire needed space and time to think. Her hopes rose when she felt her phone buzz with a text, only to plummet me she realized it was a message from Cynthia asking if they could go to another concert this week. Ruby resisted the urge to throw her phone out the window and settled for tossing it on her mattress.

She went to sleep with her heart feeling heavier than ever before.

* * *

 **I'm out for a short break at school so I'll try to write more. I get some DM's about when I will update so I'm going to work on updating weekly or something.**

 **In all honesty felt like I was pulling teeth when I wrote this chapter, I hope it doesn't show.**

 **Thanks for reading, means a lot, and please let me know what you think.**


	11. Championships

**PREVIOUSLY ON GOING THE DISTANCE:** Ruby prepares for her last game of her senior year, but with her mind clouded with her and Sapphire's last argument she may put her team in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Pearl struggles with old feels rising in new ways.

* * *

 **Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 11:** _Championships_

Ruby shook her head, letting her thick curls fall loosely behind her red headband and onto her neck. "She told me she would talk to me after the game," She said softly, voice hoarse. "I don't even know if she's going to watch honestly." She admitted.

Amethyst closed her locker, dressed in their home uniform and ready to go. "I know this is eating you up inside, but you seriously need to relax and focus on the game. We've worked way too hard for you to choke just because of problems you have going on at home,"

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Ruby glared at her, voice filled with venom. "Pretend I'm not worried about whether I'm still in a relationship with, the first, and probably the last person I'll ever want to be with?"

Amethyst rose and eyebrow, amused. "…it's not like you plan on marrying her or something,"

"…" Ruby folded her arms and looked away, a hot blush breaching her face.

"Look," Jasper shook her head, getting up to stand where she just finished wrapping her ankles. "I think she just means using your emotions for your good instead of your bad. So, use that anger and frustration for your situation to fuel you during the game," She shrugged. "The faster we win this thing, the faster you can run over and talk things out with Sapphire so you two can kiss and makeup already."

Ruby let her arms drop with a sigh. "I don't even know how this happened."

Amethyst jumped to answer. "Well, you started flirting with this homewrecker and got caught doing so. Then pictures got uploaded online, Sapphire saw, you didn't explain to her what was happening so she got the wrong idea. Yada yada yada, you might be single by the end of the night,"

Jasper shoved the chubby girl with a glare. "Sapphire isn't stupid enough to actually believe Cynthia means anything to Ruby. She's just upset about their trust and communication being breeched." Ruby's face scrunched up with mixed emotions as her friend continued. "Sapphire is the type of person to take some time to think before she comes to a decision. Long distance is hard, you have two options when it comes to it."

"You make it work or you end things, never speak again, or take a break and maybe get back together once you two are in the right place." Jasper concluded.

Ruby swallowed, heart cracking at both options. "A b-break? Like with Ross and Rachael? We all know how that turned out!" She squeaked.

Amethyst frowned. "One, they end up getting back together in the end, and two, it's not like you cheated on her or something. You just lied,"

"I didn't lie!" Ruby complained. "I just didn't tell her about anything…for a few days," Her voice wavered. "...she's going to dump me, isn't she? I won't have a date to prom!" She huffed. "Prom is the least of my worries." Ruby groaned. "I knew this was coming, she's too good for me and seriously out of my league; no one said that, but I can tell it's what they're thinking—"

Amethyst nodded sheepishly. "I won't lie and say I never thought of it. But it's fine, Pearl is out of my league, and Lapis sure as hell is out of yours." She pointed at Jasper. "But she's kind of crazy, so it evens out,"

"She's not crazy, she just has a lot going on," Jasper argued.

"I'm just saying, maybe you two need to take a break," Amethyst said softly. "…I mean, we're graduating in a couple of months and I don't know about you, but I want you to succeed in college; not stay behind to take care of someone who doesn't want your help." She spoke faster when Jasper started to argue. "We all know Lapis would flip if she found out you reported her father to the police,"

Amethyst bit her lower lip. "Sometimes, the best way to help someone, is by letting them learn to help themselves. Right now, I think Lapis needs to learn how to take care of herself."

Jasper frowned. "I'm not leaving her alone, not when she needs me." She nodded towards Ruby. "And you, focus on the damn game so we can win a championship title. Then Amethyst and I will get wasted while you have make up sex with your girlfriend."

"I doubt that's going to happen for a while," Ruby mumbled, folding her arms as her mind began to race. "…I know it's crazy, because I've only ever been with one person my entire life, but I could really see myself spending the rest of my life with her. Having a kid and just, sharing our lives, you know?" She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. "I just hate how I ruined part of the dream,"

Amethyst placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's not stupid, and the dream isn't lost. You just need to tell her what you've just told us, girls love that stuff. Commitment and such," She waved her hand lazily. "I guess we've all thought about it though. I mean, I've imagined a tiny me running around once but not really who I'd be with,"

"I've thought about Lapis and I having a kid," Jasper said without a thought.

Amethyst made a face, leaning on Ruby lazily as she looked Jasper in the eye. "You want to spend the rest of your life…with Lapis Lazuli? Wow, okay," She shook her head.

Before Jasper could snap back, the locker room door opened to reveal the other two starters; Lars and Sadie.

"Hey, we have thirty minutes until game time, so coach wants us all out there to warm up," Sadie announced, looking around the room. "Let's go win this thing, right?" She grinned.

Ruby nodded sheepishly, tugging on her red warm up before rolling her socks all the way up. "Yeah, let's do it I guess,"

It would be a long night.

* * *

Sapphire plucked her phone out once she finished knocking on Rose's front door. She had called her best friend the other night to let her know she was in town and wanted to go to the game with her, since they haven't spoken in a while. Rose was ecstatic and Greg agreed to watch Steven while they went to the game. And Sapphire didn't really want to be alone tonight, with everything going on with Ruby she figured she'd need some moral support for when they spoke.

"Hey Sapphire, I missed you so much!" Rose all but squealed as she took a hug from Sapphire before pulling away with bright eyes. "So, how's college going?"

Sapphire smiled, gesturing for Rose to follow her to the car. "It's going well, first semester ended recently so we have a month off before second semester. After that, I'm officially going to be a sophomore."

Rose grinned. "I'm so proud of you, you're going to do great things,"

"You are too, you know," Sapphire said softly, gesturing inside where Steven was asleep. "Steven is amazing, you made that," She placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but everything will look up soon," She said, encouraging her friend and herself.

Rose nodded softly. "…so, whose car is this? Didn't you drive here with, Bonnie?"

"My mother let me borrow hers, and that guy pressing his face on the glass is Ronaldo," Sapphire said with a groan, watching the blonde literally shake with joy in the front seat. "Try not to bring up rock people," She said before getting into the driver's seat.

Rose giggled softly as she got into the back, closing the door behind her. "Hi, nice to meet you, I'm—"

"Rose Quartz, I've heard so much about you!" He squealed. "I really appreciate you sending out those warning texts about the homewrecker,"

Sapphire rolled her eyes, driving away. "Can we please, not talk about this,"

Rose smiled sheepishly. "No more messages from me, Sapphire explained everything last night so I'll down play it for now." She quickly changed the subject. "Do you know if Pearl is going to the game?"

Sapphire nodded, recalling the quick conversation she had with her the other night. "Yeah, she's going with Peridot. She's in a wheel chair right now until she gets stronger. She starts rehab tomorrow, Peridot said she is bringing her rehab helper to the game so they can get to know each other,"

Rose hummed. "I haven't seen her in so long, I hope she's doing okay,"

"She's getting there," Sapphire said softly.

Ronaldo bit his lower lip. "…Rose, do you believe in—"

"We are not talking about rock people! I had to listen in the car, at dinner, and through the walls last night," Sapphire snarled, headache stirring up quickly. "We are not doing this now, at least wait until we get to the game so you can start talking about it with random people."

Ronaldo groaned. "Fine, but I get to bring my pamphlets out,"

"Fine, whatever," Sapphire mumbled, mind running with what she would say to a certain curly haired girl.

* * *

Pearl stopped her chair at the bottom of the bleachers where the home fans were sitting. "This is fine," She mumbled, looking at the slowly filling seats. "Just save a few spots for Sapphire, Rose and Ronaldo."

Peridot nodded, placing her bag over the spots to save them. "Alright," She glanced up at the large clock on the wall that let them know how much time was left. "We have ten minutes so I'm going to run to the bathroom really quick, but the others should be here soon. I'll be back," She mumbled, jogging out towards the doors.

Pearl took a moment to look around the slowly heating up gym where dozens of fans were entering to watch the game of the year. A soft smile reached her lips when she found Amethyst in the mix of basketball players on the court. She was passing the ball to Ruby across the court who threw up a three pointer, making it with practiced ease before running to the other line across the court.

The past ballerina offered a shy smile when Amethyst caught her eye, she waved softly. A giggle reached her lips when Amethyst blew over an exaggerated kiss before getting Ruby's rebound and passing the ball to the next shooter.

Pearl looked away with a slight head shake, turning to observe the rest of the crowd as they entered. In the mist of the dozens of people walking in she caught a glimpse of pink hair, assuming it to be Rose she tried to catch their eyes.

When light green irises and a lip piercing greeted her, she realized it wasn't Rose but a close look alike. Her pink hair was styled in a choppy cut fashion, falling over her right shoulder. She wore a tight white shirt that showed off some cleavage and stopped above her belly button. Black jeans, torn at the right knee, had a green camouflage shirt tied around the waist.

The pink haired woman, her age or maybe a bit older, raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. An amused grin gracing her rebellious features.

Pearl's face heated up, she barely had time to conceal it when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She whipped around, caught, and looked up with a sigh to see Sapphire smiling.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," Sapphire apologized, moving to sit behind her friend. "This is Ronaldo, Bonnie would have come but she wanted to spend some time with Marceline,"

Ronaldo wiggled his eyebrows. "Yeah, she did," He flinched when Sapphire slapped him on the shoulder. "What, it's what we're all thinking,"

"Not all of us," Pearl mumbled, waving politely at Rose who sat beside her. "Hello, long time no see,"

Rose grinned. "Hey Pearl, how've you been? Steven misses you,"

"I'm good and I miss him too," She confessed. "I'll be sure to visit as soon as I'm up and walking again," She promised.

Things between her and Rose have simmered down to a comfortable friendship like before. They don't talk about Pearl's underlying feelings she once had for her friend, it's easier that way. Besides, they're both happy with other people now.

"Peridot is—" Pearl began.

"Right here," The shorter woman announced, waving at the others. "Hey Pearl, did anyone come by yet? The rehabilitation worker I was telling you about?" She asked, looking around before taking the other seat beside Pearl.

The former ballerina shook her head. "No one approached me," She said with a shrug, a grin splitting on her face when the buzzer sounded. "Oh, the game is starting,"

"Does anyone know if Lapis is coming or not?" Sapphire asked, avoiding the bright eyes she knew were looking at her from across the court. "I didn't get a chance to call her last night,"

Rose nodded. "She said she'd be here later, she had a few things to take care of,"

Sapphire hummed, finally turning her head when the whistle sounded announcing the start of the game. For the first time since entering the gym she chanced a glance at Ruby. Aside from the way she was biting her lip, a sign Sapphire learned that meant she was anxious, she seemed fine as she shook her body off. After taking in a few deep breathes, Ruby closed her eyes momentarily and when they opened they were focused and ready.

Sapphire watched as the curly haired girl got into position across from her opponent, guarding her immediately. Jasper jumped the ball and slapped it towards her team, Ruby snatched it up before the other girl could. Ruby ran, as fast as ever, towards the end of the court and scored the first lay up in the game.

Two to zero.

* * *

Ruby let out a heavy breath as her coach called a time out. She plopped down in the first seat, throwing her towel around her neck before wiping the sweat off her face. Amethyst took the seat beside her, followed by the other starters.

"Okay girls, we have ten seconds left and we're up by three," Coach Miller said, pulling out her game board and marker. "This game is ours, we have trained the hardest and our seniors deserve a championship title. It's our ball so we just need to run the clock, they are going to foul so it's important we make our foul shots."

She stood up when the refs' whistle sounded, letting them know their time was up. "Pass the ball to Ruby or Sadie if you're in a jam, they're our best ball handlers. Hands in, let's win this," She nodded to the curly haired teen. "Call it captain,"

Ruby licked her lips, eyes scanning the crowd for Sapphire briefly. "Family on three. One, two, three—"

"Family!" The team cheered, removing their hands before running back on the court.

Ruby swallowed as the referee gestured where she could stand to take the ball out. Unfortunately, the ball had gotten knocked out right in front of Sapphire and the others.

"Hey," Amethyst said softly, hand on her friends shoulder to get her attention. "Ten seconds left, don't let it get to you just focus on this. You've done a great job so far,"

Ruby nodded her head, glancing at the red ten glaring at her. "…thanks, but, don't worry," She walked forward, letting Amethysts hand fall.

The ref pointed to the spot where she could take the ball out as she walked over, Amethyst retreating to the position coach wanted her at; guarding another big. Ruby's breath couldn't stop itself from hitching when she caught a glimpse of soft blue eyes peeking out from behind long bangs. Rose's loud cheer was the only thing easing the tension by their area.

Ruby offered Rose a soft smile as she tucked in her uniform to buy some time. "Thanks," She mumbled, taking the ball, and slapping it to get her teammates to start moving.

Once she noticed an opening, she passed it to Lars who immediately tossed it to Sadie. Ruby checked the clock as it counted down slowly, watching Sadie stand still and wait for the other team to approach her.

"Ruby!" Sadie shouted as a girl ran towards her.

Ruby ran over and caught the ball with ease, placing it under her armpit. Hands on her hips, she stood still as her man approached her; three seconds left.

Ruby bounced the ball and easily crossed the approaching player just as the buzzer sounded, announcing the end of the game and their victory.

The crowd exploded with shouts and exclamations. "Let's go!" Jasper cheered running up to Ruby with a grin. "State champions baby!" She barely resisted the urge to scope her friend up.

Ruby couldn't help but grin, ball clutched tightly in her hands. "I knew we'd do it,"

"This is crazy," Amethyst wrapped her arms around both of them. "I knew it was possible but this is insane! Party at my house!" She said, whistling at the large trophy being brought over to them. "Let's get a picture,"

Ruby took the trophy with a grin, standing between her best friends and holding it up as cameras snapped wildly. "Mom is going to flip," She chuckled, knowing how upset her mother was about not being able to attend this one.

"She can't go to them all," Jasper shrugged, grabbing the trophy with a smile.

Sadie cheered, joining them. "Amethyst mentioned a party earlier? Let me grab the rest of the team and spread the word," She grinned.

"Ruby," Jasper nodded towards her friend who began walking towards the locker room. "Are you coming with us?"

The curly haired girl shook her head, sweat whipping about. "I'm going to get changed and greet the crowd, but I'll let you know if I plan on going or not,"

"No decisions, you're getting drunk with us," Amethyst said. "If I don't see you at the party then I'll just drag you there myself."

Ruby shook her head softly. "Yeah, all right," She mumbled, jogging towards the locker room to change.

* * *

Amethyst ran over and placed a soft kiss on Pearl's forehead as she joined her friends over by the bleachers. The crowd was beginning to clear out, but the team was still taking pictures with their family and friends. Coach Miller was still doing victory laps around the gym with the trophy; despite Sadie's disagreement.

"Hey, I didn't think you'd make it," Amethyst said softly.

Pearl shook her head. "I wouldn't miss this game for the world. You guys did amazing,"

"Thanks, I'm throwing a celebration party at my place with the team. Are you going to head back with Peridot or do you want to stop by?" Amethyst asked sheepishly. "I mean, obviously, you can't dance but you could have a drink or two,"

Pearl smiled softly. "I'll just head back to the hotel, I have rehab early in the morning anyway. But you have fun, I'll call you tomorrow or something so we can get some dinner,"

"Great," Amethyst smiled. "I'm going to get a ride with Sadie and the others, I'll see you later," Another kiss and she was jogging with her bag towards her friends waiting by the door.

Rose sighed, nodding towards Ronaldo. "Want to wait in the car? Sapphire gave me the keys,"

"Oh, where'd she go?" He asked, looking to the spot where his friend once was.

Rose shrugged, not wanting to get into it. "Bathroom I think. Are you going to the party? I would but I have to go back home to watch Steven so Greg can get some rest, I can't party like I used to," She smiled sadly, but brightened at the thought of seeing her son again.

He hummed. "Sapphire probably won't go and I won't know anyone so I think I'll just go back to her parent's place. I'd rather hang out with her doing something small than be around all those people."

"Okay, let's go then," Rose held the keys up. "I'll call you later Pearl, maybe we can set up another girl's night," She grinned.

Pearl waved as they walked towards the exit. "Okay great, get home safe," She turned back to Peridot. "You ready to go?"

"Hold on, I wanted to introduce you to the woman who's going to be helping you at the rehabilitation center this week," Peridot moved out of the way and gestured to the same pink haired stranger Pearl had noticed before; her blush returned at full force. "Pearl this is S,"

The pink woman smiled daringly. "Hey," She waved lazily.

Pearl swallowed a lump in her throat, willing herself to speak without stuttering. "H-hi," She failed.

"…well, I was thinking you two should have lunch tomorrow to get to know each other since you'll be spending most of your time together," Peridot shrugged, looking at Pearl strangely. "But we should get out of here, I'm starving and my leftovers at home are calling my name."

S nodded to Pearl again. "Nice meeting you," She said, voice deep and husky.

"Y-yes, same here," Pearl squeaked out, turning her chair towards the exit. "…let's go," She stuttered, strange emotions running through her system.

Peridot frowned. "…yeah,"

* * *

Sapphire leaned against an open locker, watching Ruby pull up her newly changed grey sweatpants. They were the only ones left in the locker room; everyone else was off to celebrate the teams victory. There was an awkward silence ever since Sapphire walked in on Ruby standing in just a sports bra and shorts; the seniors physique taunting and teasing her.

Ruby's eyes had widened upon her arrival, a nervous blush spreading across her face as she struggled to redress faster. Sapphire almost looked away, feeling like she walked in on something she shouldn't have before she brushed the feeling away; this was still her girlfriend. She could look all she wanted, but the strange feeling wouldn't fade.

Was Ruby truly hers? Was she ever?

Sapphire hadn't spoken to her since their tense conversation the other night, and despite all her thinking and planning; she had no idea what to say.

She wanted answers, to figure out just what was going on when she was away at college but she had a feeling she shouldn't just spring it up. Ruby had just completed a major accomplishment, and Sapphire had to acknowledge that.

"You played well," Sapphire settled, breaking the silence, arms crossed over her chest as she watched Ruby tug the hoodie she bought her over her muscular form. "Congratulations on your first championship title, it's a great way to end your senior year," She smiled softly, speaking honestly. "You deserve it,"

Ruby finished dressing, and threw her bag over her shoulder with a soft grin. "…thanks. Amethyst is throwing a party but I'm not in the mood honestly," She admitted softly, playing with the strap on her bag anxiously.

"You should go," Sapphire said, looking at the floor. "Moments like this, you have to cherish them. You never know if you'll get another," She thinks back to Pearl's accident with a frown.

Ruby huffed, sick of poking around the bush, and dropped her bag with a light thud. "The only thing I want to do right now is sit down and talk with you, find out where we stand. And maybe kiss you, possibly," She added nervously.

Sapphire's lips twitching into either a snarl or a concealed grin caused Ruby to shake her head. "Or just talk," She tried again with a sheepish apology.

But she couldn't help it, she hadn't seen Sapphire in weeks and she had a way of getting prettier over time. Her lips looking as full as ever.

Ruby looked away from the temptation and tried to reach her eyes; her amazing eyes. "I could care less about the party, or this championship; I'll have more of those. But this," She gestured between them. "This is killing me," She sighed, shoulders falling. "I miss you…I miss what we used to have, how coordinated we were to one another,"

"I know I was wrong and I just want us to be okay again," Ruby confessed, body shaking as she watches Sapphire's expressions closely. "My mother is out of town so I have the house to myself," She could see Sapphire's glare through her heavy bangs; she shook her head quickly. "N-no, to talk!" She corrected quickly, hands up.

Ruby sighed when Sapphire nodded stiffly. "Would you, let me drive you there so we can talk?" She pleaded.

Sapphire pulled out her phone and called Ronaldo, she held a finger up to Ruby. "Hold on," She mumbled, clearing her throat as the line clicked. "Hey, change in plans, I'm heading back to Ruby's place. You can take my mother's car to the party if you want or—"

"No, I'm pretty exhausted so I'll just drive Rose home and see you whenever you get back," He said quickly. "Be safe," He added, ready to head over whenever Sapphire called.

Sapphire nodded. "Always, I'll text you later," She said before hanging up and turning around to a hopeful Ruby. "…ready?"

"Yeah," Ruby swallowed, running to hold the door open for Sapphire before walking out.

Here goes.

* * *

 **Freshmen year is finished and I'm a sophomore now! Summer is looking great, and I have more free time so I'll try and update whenever I can. Next chapter will be about Ruby and Sapphire talking, after that there will only be one chapter left.**

 **I can't update A Glimpse because if I do then you'll know how the story ends and I want you to finish this one before I can start working on it. I may do another part to the series with them in college, but I'm not sure. Let me know what you guys think. It could be a good way to sum up some loose ends about how they all get to where they are.**

 **Thanks for reading. And, how crazy was the last Steven bomb!?**

 **See you next time!**


	12. I'll Meet You on the Other Side

**In this chapter, the italics towards the end will represent old memories. Enjoy. This is for the day one fans.**

* * *

 **PREVIOUSLY ON GOING THE DISTANCE:** Ruby and Sapphire make some decisions for their relationship.

* * *

 **Going the Distance**

 **Chapter 12:** _I'll Meet You on the Other Side_

 _Life is a test_

The front door opened in Ruby's house as the senior held the heavy oak open for her girlfriend to breeze through easily. Sapphire mumbled a soft, _thank you_ , before she slipped through and made a beeline for the kitchen.

She had a feeling she would need a drink for this.

Sapphire didn't start drinking regularly until she went to college. It seemed necessary, just like getting coffee to help her through her exams, drinking helped take the pressure off. She didn't party or get shit faced. Just a sip of red wine with Bubblegum and Ronaldo during those all-nighters. It left her feeling numb and tingly, and it helped her forget about the stress at school and back home.

"Does your mom still have that wine drawer she thinks Jasper doesn't go through when she's away?" Sapphire asked, without waiting for the reply as she plucked it open. "…hello," She said with a sigh, snatching the first dense bottle before bumping the drawer closed with her hip.

Ruby scratched her head, dropping the bags, as she watched Sapphire take a clean glass. "Since when do you drink?" She had only seen Sapphire choke on a sip of beer, get wasted at Jasper's party, and cough on an inhale of something Jasper was smoking near the pool one summer.

They had all gotten off from work and took a trip in Ruby's car to the local pool Amethyst worked at as a lifeguard. It wasn't the best idea to sneak into private property but it would be their last summer before Sapphire's senior year and then college and…ugh, becoming an adult.

So, Ruby helped Sapphire over the fence and followed her friends to sit on the chairs. Jasper pulled out four cans of beer, Ruby refused because she had to drive home, while everyone else took theirs and sipped. Sapphire choked on the taste, her body recognizing the threat and evacuating her trachea of the liquor.

Jasper and Amethyst had a field day, almost slipping into the pool with how intense their laughter was. Ruby took the time to pat her wheezing girlfriend on the back, making the effort to snatch the can from her.

"Not everyone likes the taste," Jasper said after calming down, she held her hand out to the warry ballerina beside her. "…try this, it'll take the edge off." She left Sapphire to examine the rolled white paper.

Ruby leaned back and watched amused as Sapphire took a puff before letting out a series of coughs. "Take that from her before she kills herself, Jasper," She said, shaking her head as Sapphire leaned back to look at the stares. "She's already fried."

Amethyst howled. "I thought you'd try to stop her," She confessed.

"She does what she wants, I can't stop her," Ruby smiled.

The rest of the night was filled with them looking up at the stares, the summer heat keeping them awake and immobile. They left when Jasper and Amethyst ran out of alcohol and the tingling was fading away. Ruby drove them back to her place where she let her friends raid her kitchen for cold pizza and soda. They sat in the living room at three in the morning, knowing they each had to be up early for work.

They talked about nothing, they talked about anything, everything. Around four, knowing they were cutting it close, Ruby dumped some blankets on her slumbering friends on the couch while she and Sapphire opted for the bedroom.

Ruby smiled softly at the memory. Sapphire seemed so different now, she wasn't that teenager who could barely take a sip of beer without getting green in the face. She didn't sneak into local pools in the dead of the night or sit around listening to Jasper talk about how much of a prick her gym teacher was.

College had changed her. It gave her an aroma of maturity, confidence, and intelligence.

"You have to in college," Sapphire shook her head, swallowing the wine with a satisfying sigh. "That's not true. You can make it without liquor but you'll have to find another way to ease your tension. Like sports, parties, Oreos," She snickered, thinking of Ronaldo.

Ruby sat down beside her on the couch, kicking her shoes off. "How was your first semester by the way?"

"Fine," Sapphire shrugged. "…it wasn't hard but it wasn't easy either. It's something you won't know about until you experience it for yourself. The professors work with you if you need help, and oh," She paused. "Don't raise your hand to ask for the bathroom, just walk out, it'll save you the embarrassment."

Ruby snickered. "Jasper will love that."

Sapphire smirked. "Seriously, this one guy had his hand up for ten minutes. Professors tend to talk for hours non-stop, but coffee helps."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Ruby said honestly. "College is where it all comes together, I've heard. You discover what you want to do or what you don't want to do with your life. Opens the door for a lot of job opportunities." When Sapphire gave her a strange look Ruby chuckled nervously. "Senior year and all, our English teacher is making us do a research paper on college."

The ballerina hummed. "…what about you, how is school going so far? Any word back from any colleges,"

"Not yet. I've been applying though and I have a good chance for an athletic scholarship." Ruby explained. "I should be hearing back from other schools soon but I'll let you know what happens."

Sapphire nodded, placing her glass on the coaster covering the table. "Anything else going on?"

Ruby leaned back, preparing for the bumpy road ahead of her with this conversation. "…it's seriously not even as bad as it sounds. Rose and the others are overcomplicating this,"

"If it isn't what it looks like then why didn't you tell me about her? What's her name again?" Sapphire asked coldly, Ruby could tell she didn't really care about the name of the girl latching onto her girlfriend like a leech.

Ruby sighed. "Her name is Cynthia but her friends call her Centi,"

"Okay," Sapphire nodded, crossing her legs daintily. "So, where did you meet _Cynthia_?"

Ruby swallowed, thinking back to it all. "…we played her team in basketball, she was on the team we had to beat to qualify for states. We shared a short talk after the game, being good sports, and then I left because I had to get home to call you before your next lecture."

Sapphire nodded. "Okay. Is that all that happened the first day you met her?"

"Of course!" Ruby huffed out exasperated, leaving out when Cynthia followed her on Instagram in hopes to keep Sapphire calm. "I didn't see her again until the restaurant." She slipped, biting her tongue at the arched brow Sapphire surely had hidden behind lengthy bangs.

She pursed her lips. "There were more encounters besides the party and pictures then?" She grabbed her glass of wine and took a much-needed sip. "I want to hear all of it. Don't leave out any details."

Ruby resisted the urge to scream, this was not necessary. "…I had study hall so I left school early with Jasper and Amethyst. We went to a new restaurant and Cynthia greeted us as our waiter."

"She recognized you, didn't she?"

Ruby nodded, not understanding the tone Sapphire was using. "She told us her name and took our order. Jasper mentioned I had a girlfriend and then she smiled and walked away to process the order."

"When was the next time you saw her?" Sapphire asked, resisting the urge to ask how Cynthia reacted when she found out Ruby was dating someone.

She could learn a lot about a woman when still chased after someone who is spoken for.

"Jasper, Amethyst and I went to the mall and saw Centi there. She said she was picking up some basketball socks for the game the next day, we made a few comments on the game and I said we were headed to get some food. I…" Ruby frowned, looking back at that day in the mall. "I uhm…I asked if she wanted to join us."

Thinking back to the mall, to Cynthia's flushed face and her friends accusing looks, Ruby felt like she could be guilty of something. Maybe not cheating, but leading a girl on without knowing. But Centi knew she had a girlfriend. So why would she think anything besides friendship could be possible between them.

As if reading her thoughts; Sapphire remained mute.

Ruby took that as a hint to keep going. "So, we had some food, all four of us, and talked about the game. Then we stopped by footlocker, after she said she had to tutor some kid so we went our separate ways. The last time I saw her was at our finals game,"

"That's the one where you scored your thousand points and asked me to prom." Sapphire stated. "…she was there? Did you speak to her at all that night?"

Ruby swallowed, she felt like she was on trial. "Yes." She sighed. "Jasper and Amethyst said she had crush on me but I brushed it off because I had, have, you and I wasn't interested. And I didn't think they were serious, if I knew I wo—"

"Then what happened," Sapphire cut her off swiftly.

Ruby felt her shoulders drop. "I didn't talk to her, I was too busy proposing to you in front of the whole school." She snipped, very passive aggressive despite trying to hold back. "…you were in town, so I didn't see her for a couple of weeks."

"…where?"

Ruby licked her lips nervously. "I wanted some space so I went to my old neighborhood I grew up in, before I moved to Beach City. I wanted to shoot around for a while, and she was there visiting her family so she joined me." She ran a finger through her hair. "I was stressed out about the game so she took me to a brick wall where we spray painted to take the edge off,"

"It helped me feel lighter and I just wanted to remember the moment, so we took a picture. That's the one you saw on my snapchat story." Ruby admitted. "We talked about what the painting meant then she saw my screen with your picture and asked me about you and how long we've been together."

"…then she said she plays videogames so I gave her my number so I could invite her over to play with Jasper, Amethyst, and I." Ruby fiddled with her fingers, it felt like she was digging a deeper hole for herself. "…what?" She asked, watching Sapphire take a full swing of wine.

Sapphire refilled her glass with a hard chuckle. "Nothing. It's just, you've never told me anything about the area you grew up, let alone take me there. And whenever I bring it up you get upset, it's just interesting how you'd share it with _her_."

Ruby sucked her teeth. "I get why you're upset but it's not like I planned for it to happen!"

"The concert." Sapphire cut her off. "I assume that's the last time you spoke with her? How'd it go?"

Ruby nodded. "Fine. She was over playing videogames and I invited her to come with us to the concert." She left out how upset her friends were about it. "We got there and I wanted to see Marceline so I ditched them and went backstage where I met Finn and Jake." She sighed. "I was going to tell you about the concert but Marceline had texted me about it hours before the show and I was just so caught up with everything; Jasper being upset over Lapis, Amethyst worrying over Pearl and Centi was wasted."

Sapphire paused, taking in all the information. "Finn. He was the one who took the video?"

"Yeah, he and his brother Jake were performing and we hit it off pretty well." Ruby smiled at the memory of the funny brothers on the dance floor. "They dragged me to the dance floor but I was ready to go so I left to find Jasper. Cynthia was leaning all over Amethyst, drunk, so she shoved her to me. Finn took the picture and it was just a misunderstanding."

Ruby went on. "I drove us back and Amethyst kept Cynthia for the night because by now Rose was spreading rumors about the green haired home-wrecker and I didn't want it to be awkward when she woke up in my house the next morning."

"That was the last time I spoke to her," Ruby ended.

Sapphire placed her glass down. "Are you sure that's all that happened? Anything you're forgetting?"

"No, I'm telling you everything and I really don't appreciate the way you're ganging up on me right now," Ruby jumped up from the couch, glaring down at the older woman. "We've been together for over a year, you could at least give me the benefit of the doubt!"

Sapphire got up to meet her head on, frowning. "The last time I gave you the benefit of the doubt I had my friends sending me messages of how I should come out here and find out what my girlfriend's doing. I was in the middle of finals, Ruby! I don't have time for this shit!"

"Sorry I'm such an inconvenience for you," Ruby scoffed.

Sapphire shook her head. "I…I don't know what to think right now,"

"You should believe me! Take my word for it!" Ruby shouted. "I've told you everything and you still don't…"

Ruby sucked in a deep breath before heaving. "It just hurts that you can't trust me and I…I can't believe I'm saying this but," Ruby let out a heavy sigh, glaring at the floor beneath her feet as if it were to blame for everything that was wrong in the world. "…I think we should take a break, Sapph," She confessed.

The taller girl felt as if her whole world was crumbling before her, everything she put into this relationship; crushed.

Sapphire scoffed, voice breaking as she moved closer. "A break? Are you serious right now, Ruby? I'm the one who should be threatening to end things, you are in no position to demand anything!" She shouted, glaring angrily at the gulping senior. "Of course, I know you didn't cheat on me, I know you're not like that, but you should have told me what was going on instead of letting me find out from everyone else."

"I'm hours away from you studying at school where I'm stressed enough with classes, I come home to you so I can relax; not come back to this childish bullshit!" Sapphire spat viciously, causing Ruby to flinch. "I'm not your high school girlfriend anymore, Ruby, I'm not going to tiptoe around this relationship."

Sapphire stepped closer, watching Ruby look away in frustration or shame. "I don't want to have to worry about you making me look like a fool while I'm at school trying to get my life together. Having me find out by Bubblegum? Are you kidding me? You've made a fool of me and you have the nerve to ask me for a break."

"…we've been through a lot," Ruby whispered, eyes burning with the onslaught of unshed tears.

Sapphire nodded. "Yeah, and we'll go through a whole lot more. But this is a relationship, things will be tough but you don't quit when they do. You stick it out and you find a way to make it work." She crossed her arms, looking at the taller girl angrily. "…we've been together for over a year and you just—you want to throw all of this away because of a misunderstanding?"

"I don't want to split up," Ruby confessed without missing a beat; she continued as Sapphire gave her a confused look. "I'm sorry I'm being complicated but come on, a few minutes ago you were badgering me about Cynthia instead of trusting what I told you—"

Sapphire frowned. "You didn't tell me anything while it was going on! I get that we're both busy and we have a lot going on but you could have at least given me a heads up. When we stop communicating, that's when things get messy."

Ruby heaved out a long breath. "I love you, so much."

"That sounds like the start of a crappy break up," Sapphire half teased.

"It's not," Ruby promised. "But the way you were asking for a play by play of my time with Cynthia…I thought you were sick of the games but didn't have the strength to break it off so I was going to do it for you. But I don't want to break up," She carefully took Sapphire's hands into hers with a soft sigh. "I want us to stay together for a long time…maybe even forever." She chanced.

Sapphire bit her lower lip. "Forever?" She teased, bumping her forehead with her girlfriends softly.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, we'll go to college together, if I get into your school. You can cheer me on at my games and I'll go to your recitals. The league will try to draft me but I'll finish school first because my mother would kill me if I don't." She grinned. "Then when I graduate I'll play professionally and you will have a dance career as well."

"We can buy a big house with a big yard for snowflake to run around in," Sapphire quipped. "Invite Rose and the others over to hang out."

Ruby licked her lips nervously. "…we'll get married in spring, have a small ceremony with our close friends. Then we can adopt a girl, or one of us could carry. I'd teach her how to play basketball," She paused, listening to the calming sound of her lovers breathing.

She prayed Sapphire wouldn't freak out.

"…we…" Sapphire swallowed; she was still wary about kids but she would try for Ruby when the time came. "We could name her Garnet."

Ruby felt her stomach flutter as she raised her head to consider long bangs, she smiled. "Garnet? I like that, yes," She sighed. "Garnet will be our little queen; she'll get everything she wants but she won't be spoiled because you'll raise her not to be. We'll both keep her grounded."

"I like the sound of it all,"

Ruby straightened up, a wide grin reaching across her lips. "Let's make it official then."

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "Y-you want to get married, now?"

"Not now, but in the future. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else," Ruby continued when Sapphire let out a shy laugh. "I'm serious." Ruby, with an impressive amount of grace, dropped down to one knee.

Sapphire gasped as Ruby took her hands. "W-what, you're serious?" She squeaked out.

Ruby looked up at the one and only love of her life, she was sure. "That's what a proposal is, a promise. And I promise you, I will love and cherish you for the rest of my life. I've been fighting for you since the moment we've met, against all odds, and I can't see myself with anyone else." She smiled despite the tears welling up in her eyes. "You are my first, and my only, and I want to spend the rest of my life arguing, talking, and being with you."

Sapphire swallowed thickly. "…Ruby,"

"I don't have a ring, but we don't need one because our engagement will be made final as long as we keep our promise to always come back to each other." Ruby's voice was full of emotion, lips trembling. "Sapphire Fields, can you promise to do the same?"

"Yes," Sapphire choked out, pulling Ruby back to her feet in a swift pull. "Of course," She exclaimed before pushing their lips together in a tender kiss, completing their proposal.

Ruby pulled away with a smile. "We're engaged."

"Rose is going to flip," Sapphire laughed through fresh happy tears.

Ruby shook her head, running her fingers through Sapphire's thick locks. "This is between us, until we've graduated college. Once we can provide for ourselves and…future Garnet, then we can make our way to the church." She pecked Sapphire's lips one more time. "Until then, they can wonder for all I care; this is ours."

"We're engaged," Sapphire squealed. "We don't have to get rings or anything right now, do we?"

Ruby shook her head, pulling Sapphire back to her once more. "No, all we need is each other."

* * *

 **Two weeks later**

Amethyst cheered, pushing her curly-haired friend with a bright grin. "I can't believe you got a full scholarship to Sapphire's school! This is great, now you two can be together and stop this long-distance crap," She said, nodding over to Sapphire who was speaking with Ronaldo and Rose in the living room. "Have you told her the good news yet?"

"No," Ruby shrugged when Amethyst glared at her. "We've just been enjoying spending time together and I don't want my letter to smother her. College is where she gets space, I want her to have that for as long as possible. But I'll tell her soon,"

Jasper shook her head. "You better. Take it from me, keeping secrets will get you nowhere,"

"…how's Lapis doing? Have you gone to visit her?" Ruby asked softly.

Over the past week Jasper had finally taken her friends advice and told Lapis the truth about her father. She didn't take it well at first but Jasper explained how unhealthy their relationship was and how she couldn't let him keep hurting her. They wanted to stay together but they agreed to a much-needed break.

During the break, Lapis took Jasper's advice and began seeing a therapist to go over her problems with her father. Jasper was giving her the space she need so she could find herself again. Maybe they could get together in the future, but right now their timing just wasn't right.

"No, she only talks to Rose," Jasper sighed heavily. "But it's for the best. Our relationship really was unstable, I'm just glad I had the strength to stop it," She shook her head. "Enough about me, how are you and Pearl doing?"

Amethyst smiled softly. "We talk regularly but she's busy with rehab and getting ready to work with Peridot and the dancers, but we're good." She grinned. "Basketball is over, can you believe baseball season is creeping back up on us?"

"I can't wait," Ruby exclaimed. "It's going to be just like old times. But this time you two aren't sleeping around and half our friends are gone," She smiled sadly. "Time flies,"

Jasper nodded. "Yeah, but Rose will probably make it out to see us,"

"This is serious guys, we're seniors and this will be the last time we every play together again," Amethyst began, uncharacteristically sentimental. "Ruby is going off to make her dreams come true in college, I'll be in some lame community college playing with a bad team and Jasper…who knows where this loser is going!"

Jasper shoved her, frowning. "I have plans! You guys can't even imagine what I'll become,"

"No," Ruby interrupted her. "You can't imagine what we all will become. Even if we're separated, we'll still be sisters to the end. And summer is long, we can all get a job close by and hang out like before,"

"It's not the end," Ruby reassured them.

Amethyst nodded. "Then let's go to states and make our last season together count," She pointed at the curly haired teen. "And you, go tell Sapphire the good news while life is looking great. Hurry,"

"Alright," Ruby grinned, snatching her acceptance letter that was protected in a white envelope. "Sapphire," She called out, exiting the kitchen to approach her love.

Sapphire pulled away from Rose and Ronaldo to reach her fiancé. "Hey, what's up?" She giggled as a wet kiss wat placed on her right cheek. "Gross," She playfully shoved her away.

"I have some news," Ruby began, keeping the letter behind her back for suspense.

Before Sapphire could ask, the front door to Ruby's house was pushed open. It revealed an on-edge Bubblegum with a handsy Marceline hovering behind her.

"Marcy, stop! You've already distracted me so much that we might be late getting back," She screeched, shoving her girlfriend aside. "Come on guys, Marceline is going to drive back with us; she has a show at the campus," She grinned.

Ronaldo cheered. "Awesome! It was nice meeting you Rose, and everyone else." He pulled Ruby aside, one arm wrapped around her strong frame. "Hey, I'm glad you two made up but if you ever hurt her again then you'll have to answer to me. Got it?"

"Y-yeah," Ruby swallowed, moving away from the conspiracy theorist maniac.

At least he refrained from bringing up rock people this time.

Sapphire turned around as her friends walked out to the car, Rose following behind to say her goodbyes. "Hey, what was your news?" She asked with a frown.

"Nothing," Ruby pulled her in for a kiss, placing the letter into Sapphire's hands blindly. "…open it when you get back to school and call me when you have the time. I love you," She whispered into one more kiss.

Sapphire pulled away, their lips smacking. "Love you too," She eyed Ruby strangely, then the letter, before grabbing her bag and heading out the door with a final wave.

Ruby leaned against the door, chuckling as Ronaldo bawled into Rose's shoulder. He'd miss her the most.

"You'll see her again," Jasper said, watching them pack into the car from behind her.

Ruby smiled softly. "I know, but it doesn't make it any easier."

Rose met them on the steps as they all waved to the fleeting car. They didn't stop looking until the car was out of sight.

"I'm glad you two worked it out," Rose turned to face her. "No one will ever be hurt by that homewrecker again,"

Ruby couldn't help but laugh along with Amethyst, some things never change. "…you're a good friend Rose, I'm glad I met you."

"Don't get all soft on me now, Harris," Rose laughed, a sparkle in her eyes as she pushed them all back inside. "Come on, let's play some videogames before Greg calls and I have to leave to watch Steven."

Amethyst was the first to grab the remote, kicking her feet up on the table; for once Ruby didn't argue. "We can watch Steven for you. That way you can have a break,"

"Really?" Rose raised an eyebrow, sitting beside Amethyst as she grabbed the other remote.

Jasper nodded, plopping down on the floor. "Yeah, we'll all help out while you rest up."

Rose smiled happily. "I love you guys,"

"Now whose getting soft," Ruby teased, grabbing snacks from the kitchen.

She picked up some pop tarts, heating them up first of course, and some drinks. Ruby took the time to lean against the kitchen wall, looking at her friends laugh and joke around in the living room.

It was crazy how much things had changed over the past few years. It feels like it was only yesterday when they were getting ready to go to The Hop and play baseball until dark.

"Yo," Amethyst broke her out of her trance. "Stop staring at us like a freak and pass the snacks."

Ruby complied, tossing the food to her friends before taking a seat on the couch to Rose's right. She kicked her feet up and watched them play. Her mind drifting off to how everything started. How things had gotten to be this way.

How far they had come.

 _"Losers," Ruby slammed her Algebra two text book in front of two other girls. "We're going to the hop today!"_

 _Amethyst cheered loudly from her wooden school desk. "Finally; I've been waiting all week for this,"_

 _"You're not the only one Amethyst," Jasper spoke from beside her in another desk. "Ruby and I have been practicing every day after school."_

 ** _Life is a test  
It will break you or  
drive you, to the ground_**

 _Sapphire gratefully followed her outside the hall; she crossed her arms and leaned on the wall. "Is there a problem?" She asked softly._

 _"We were running some tests on Pearl to make sure that she was okay; basic things like concussion test, checking for internal bleeding and a few x-rays," She pulled out an x-ray sheet and turned it to face Sapphire who frowned. "This is an x-ray of her Tibia or her shinbone,"_

 _Sapphire watched as the nurse pointed to the slimmer bone with her finger. "Somehow during the crash, she fractured it. She doesn't feel it now because she is under a lot of pain killers but she will soon and she will not be able to walk on it anytime soon,"_

 _"But she's a ballerina," Sapphire got out, sighing heavily as she observed the image. "She has a show next week—"_

 ** _In the game of survival  
Take a look around in my town  
All the kings, the crowns  
The tools will provide you_**

 _"That's what I'm talking about!" A loud, husky, cheer erupted from Jasper as the timer ran out and officially announced them as the winners._

 _Ruby had no time to react as her sweaty form was snatched into her best friend Jasper's equally soaked uniform, resulting in some sort of hug. It took little to no time for Amethyst to jump in between the hug, grinning, from where she had been standing on the court._

 _"Man, we are so going to States!" The purple girl declared, joy oozing from her. "And you," She playfully shoved Ruby. "Are twenty points away from reaching a thousand, you're name is going to be up on that wall with all the other great players soon,"_

 ** _Find yourself in a strange place  
Where it's too late to about face  
When you're going through emotions_**

 _"Rose," Ruby smiled softly. "Jasper is throwing a party on Tuesday since we don't have school; you guys are invited of course...We'll see you then,"_

 _"...Fine," Rose pouted. "Text me the address...Wait my phone is upstairs; Sapphire give Ruby your number for me,"_

 _Ruby didn't know why but suddenly her hands were shaking when she handed Sapphire her phone. The blue girl typed it in quickly before handing it back to Ruby. Their hands grazed each other's briefly._

 _"I'll text you," Ruby gulped._

 _Sapphire just nodded._

 ** _When you're going through it  
With the ones you were close with_**

 _"...confession time," Amethyst said; not allowing her to go back on her word._

 _"Confession time," Ruby sighed, looking them straight in the eyes. "I guess I should start at the beginning...it was during the party yesterday when I saw Sapphire, drunk, with Sour Cream who was about to take advantage of her so I stepped in and pushed him to the floor. He passed out on the stairs and I took Sapphire to the second floor to get her away from the loud noise,"_

 _She went on; avoiding her friend's curious gaze. "I tried to find an empty room but I walked in on Amethyst and Pearl," Ruby shuddered at the disturbing memory._

 _Amethyst chuckled; stopping when she saw Jasper glaring at her. She whispered an apology and focused back on Ruby._

 _"So, I found another room and gave her some water. We started talking about why we can't be together when I started leaning in for a kiss; but then I started to realize that it would be wrong to take advantage of her and leaned away but she kissed me anyway,"_

 ** _We was street brothers  
Riding the trains  
And the subway tunnels are the veins  
in the body of the city_**

 _Sapphire nodded, smiling softly. "I'm ready, but how are we going to—"_

 _"We're riding with Ruby!" Amethyst interrupted, wrapping an arm around her aggravated red friend. "We have much to confess; like, more details about—"_

 _Ruby quickly pulled her purple friend into an aggressive head lock, glaring at her. "Will you shut up about that! I have nothing to tell you, perverts!"_

 _Sapphire blushed, having a good idea about what they were referring to. "…well, I guess I'll ride with Rose and Pearl. You can follow us, I know where to go, and then I can drive with you the next time we stop; deal?"_

 _Ruby, not releasing Amethyst, nodded. "Sure, but Amethyst is sitting in the back!"_

 _Despite the situation, the purple girl cheered. "Road trip!"_

 ** _Underground I remain  
Me and my brothers, we reign_**

 _Once she noticed an opening, she passed it to Lars who immediately tossed it to Sadie. Ruby checked the clock as it counted down slowly, watching Sadie stand still and wait for the other team to approach her._

 _"Ruby!" Sadie shouted as a girl ran towards her._

 _Ruby ran over and caught the ball with ease, placing it under her armpit. Hands on her hips, she stood still as her man approached her; three seconds left._

 _Ruby bounced the ball and easily crossed the approaching player just as the buzzer sounded, announcing the end of the game and their victory._

 _The crowd exploded with shouts and exclamations. "Let's go!" Jasper cheered running up to Ruby with a grin. "State champions baby!" She barely resisted the urge to scope her friend up._

 _Ruby couldn't help but grin, ball clutched tightly in her hands. "I knew we'd do it,"_

 _"This is crazy," Amethyst wrapped her arms around both of them. "I knew it was possible but this is insane! Party at my house!" She said, whistling at the large trophy being brought over to them. "Let's get a picture,"_

 ** _Who woulda knew our cold fate?_**

 _"What's wrong?" Sapphire asked worriedly, watching her girlfriend struggle to pull her sneakers back on._

 _"It's Pearl," Ruby licked her lips. "She got into a car crash."_

 ** _Who woulda knew my soulmate  
would have wings to fly,  
leaving me with heartache?_**

 _Sapphire bit her lip, twisting the end of the acceptance letter in her hand. "..."_

 _"Sapphire, you got into the school of your dreams!" Pearl exclaimed, barely containing her joy for her friend. "Why aren't you jumping up and down, this is amazing! They offered you a full ride and it's the best place for ballet!"_

 _Rose nodded, looking at her shorter friend wearily. "What's wrong? Sometimes you're impassive but this is just crazy, what are you thinking?"_

 _Sapphire slid the envelope into her school bag before she began to gather her ballet clothes, avoiding her friends gaze. "...I think that it is a great opportunity and I shouldn't take it for granted,"_

 _"But I should at least talk to Ruby about it," Sapphire whispered softly._

 ** _And now she's the queen of the party  
And I knew one day I'd see her_**

 _Ruby nodded. "Alright, I'll look for you once Sapphire is finished,"_

 _Her friend moved down the bleachers and ran out the doors and into the hall. Ruby looked back to the stage to see that she had already missed Sapphire's entrance and that she was already into her dance._

 _She cursed under her breath and kept her eyes glued to the older girl. The spot light was on her, making her makeup shine and glisten. Ruby could tell that she had been working hard these last few days; her leaps were graceful and her twirls were well practiced._

 _Her dance complemented the song well; the upbeat music connecting to her almost reckless moves. Ruby could see the judges smiling to themselves although they were supposed to remain biased._

 _"Man," She smiled. "I have to make her my girlfriend," Ruby averred._

 ** _In the flesh or next life, I'll meet her_**

 _A shoulder slamming into her left one made the red girl come to a halt. Red eyes glared at the blue girl who had bumped into her._

 _"Watch where the hell you're going," Ruby spat out viciously._

 _The short blue girl, unfazed, smiled apologetically. "Sorry,"_

 _"…" Ruby was about to yell when she saw Rose, Lapis and Pearl standing behind the girl._

 _She was friends with Rose; that meant she would have to go easy on the girl._

 _"You better be sorry," Ruby mumbled softly; turning around to catch up with her friends._

 _Soft blue eyes watched the girl run through the halls. Shaking her head; Sapphire turned around to talk to her friends._

 ** _Till then, my sweetheart, I swear  
Nothing shall make me stop_**

 _"Kissed?" Ruby finished; looking amused at the girl's rambling. "Yeah we did…"_

 _Sapphire groaned; tugging her hair in annoyance. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have done that,"_

 _"Oh," Ruby pulled her hand away._

 _The blue girl grabbed it quickly. "N-no that's not what I mean," She tried to rephrase it. "I wanted to, I really did, but Lapis likes you a-"_

 _Ruby scoffed. "I told you I don't care about her," Ruby leaned over her food so that they were inches apart. "I like you," She closed the gap, proving her point, and pressed their lips together._

 ** _What happens when you was just laughing?_**

 _"Come back~" Ruby drawled, red eyes opening just in time to see Sapphire pulling her shirt over her bra. "Take your clothes off and come back," She whined._

 _Sapphire giggled, leaning over to plant a kiss to her nose once her pants were on. "I would but I'm going to spend some time with Emerald, but I promise that I'm all yours once we get back to your place," She winked._

 _Ruby huffed, a blush rising to her face as she turned around from Sapphire. "…it's too early for loose promises,"_

 _Sapphire snickered, slipping her flipflops on quickly. "Don't sleep in too late," Was her final reply as she slipped out of the room, slowly closing the door behind her._

 ** _What happens when a struggling artist  
turns to a rich has-been?_**

 _Ruby swallowed as the referee gestured where she could stand to take the ball out. Unfortunately, the ball had gotten knocked out right in front of Sapphire and the others._

 _"Hey," Amethyst said softly, hand on her friend's shoulder to get her attention. "Ten seconds left, don't let it get to you just focus on this. You've done a great job so far,"_

 _Ruby nodded her head, glancing at the red ten glaring at her. "…thanks, but, don't worry," She walked forward, letting Amethysts hand fall._

 ** _What did I miss?_**

 _Amethyst wrapped an arm around Pearl, sniffing. "…I want one,"_

 _Pearl nearly choked on her own breath, eyeing the girl; not sure if she was joking or being serious._

 _Ruby chuckled, offering her finger to the baby who reached for it blindly. "Hey Steven, I'm Ruby, one of your godmothers and I promise to protect you from people like Amethyst,"_

 _She ignored the purple girls 'hey'._

 _Peridot frowned, motioning to the couple. "Get closer so I can take a good one of all of you,"_

 _Ruby rolled her eyes. "Peridot give the camera to the nurse and get in the stupid picture, you're part of our family too nerd,"_

 _Connie snatched the camera when the green girl's eyes widened, handing it to the nurse before standing beside her cousin. "Everyone say, Steven!" Connie said._

 _"Steven!" They all exclaimed._

 ** _My brothers used to cut up and mix, Shaolin_**

 _Sapphire looked up when the car stopped in front of Jasper's house; the smell of booze and sweat touched their nostrils. She opened the door and the musk grew stronger; she resisted the urge to cough as they walked towards the open door. Strobe lights and loud music greeted them; along with over a hundred teens their age dancing around in the small space wildly. In the heat of it all she recognized Greg's voice through the microphone as he sang on the stage._

 _"Some,_ _say I have no direction. That I'm a light speed distraction; that's a knee-jerk reaction," Greg sang softly, emotions pouring out of each verse._

 ** _It's funny  
The money, the glamor, the glitz  
In the horizon, envious guys watchin'_**

 _Ruby took a deep breath, a bright flush on her cheeks. "…Will you do me the honor of being my prom date, Sapph? There isn't anyone else who I'd rather go with," She confessed._

 _Rose squealed, pushing her blushing friend out of her seat while Pearl smiled softly and also nudged her friend._

 _"About time," Pearl mumbled, leaning her face on the palm of her hand with a soft smile._

 _Cynthia watched from the other side of the court as a short girl, probably her height, with breath taking long blue hair run into Ruby for an embrace. The older girl was wearing a white sweatshirt, light brown skinny jeans and white sneakers._

 _Centi looked away when Ruby pulled the attractive girl into a kiss, causing the crowd to cheer louder._

 ** _Suddenly my brothers and me, are divided_**

 _The picture had Ruby and Sapphire holding baby Steven close to them with Rose and Greg holding hands in her bed and the others gathered around with smiles on their faces._

 _It was the last time the group would be together like this until they all went their separate ways._

 ** _Where am I headed to?_**

 _"So, baseball is the sport, huh?" Sapphire asked, staring admirably at the girl driving._

 _Ruby nodded, grinning softly. "Yeah, my dad and I would always be at the field until dark, sometimes we'd miss dinner. We'd come home covered in dirt, trailing it through the house, mom would get so mad," She chuckled, Sapphire laughed as well. "He told me that he always knew I would be a baseball player from the time when I was a baby,"_

 _"I was in my crib, the first night they brought me home. Mom was knocked out in bed while my dad stayed in my room, just watching me," Ruby smiled. "He said I was so small in his hands. He held up three small toy balls; a basketball, soccer ball and a baseball,"_

 _Sapphire watched her girlfriend as she went on. "I didn't think twice when I grabbed the baseball and he said when I smiled so bright, he just knew,"_

 ** _It's about to be the '80s  
The master of ceremony  
Will miss his golden lady_**

 _Ruby shrugged and only said. "They're still together and they seem happy,"_

 _"I guess you're right," Sapphire confirmed before turning the radio on, she smiled. "Sadie's song is still on the top charts,"_

 _Ruby cheered. "This is my song! I've got a pair of eyes that they're getting lost in~" Ruby sung with her pitchy voice that still sounded perfect to Sapphire and succeeded in making her join in._

 _"They're hypnotized by my way of walking," Sapphire sang softly, nodding along with the melody. "I've got them dazzled like a stage magician,"_

 _Ruby nodded when it all came together, singing the next verse a little softer. "When I point, they look and when I talk, they listen—"_

 ** _Hope she don't betray me_**

 _Sapphire frowned, whispering to herself. "…I didn't even know she was at the concert."_

 _They had spoken the other night about the picture on Ruby's story, but it seemed harmless to Sapphire so she told her girlfriend it wasn't a big deal; she could have other friends besides Jasper and Amethyst._

 _She just wished Ruby would have mentioned going to a concert. Come to think of it, she hadn't received a single message from Ruby all day._

 _"That's cute," Bubblegum smiled at the picture of Ruby, Jake, and Finn; they were all smiling into the camera. "We should all get together sometime and—oh," Her face flushed and her mouth hung open, she exited out of the video as quick as possible; hoping Sapphire hadn't seen it._

 _Ronaldo looked up, chewing his candy as he frowned at the silent women. "What's wrong?"_

 _Sapphire shook her head, lips set into a straight line. "…I just saw my supposed girlfriend dancing up against said girl who was just on her story yesterday, nothing serious." She chuckled darkly. "She didn't even call, text, me about her going to a concert either. Instead I find out like this,"_

 ** _We both started off with a wish_**

 _In the back of her mind Sapphire realizes that she shouldn't be here; feeling these things with her. Ruby was Lapis's crush and Lapis was her best friend; yet here she was kissing Ruby at Jasper's house party. And no matter how wrong she knew it was; Sapphire couldn't seem to stop._

 _And she didn't want to._

 ** _Suddenly it turned into this_**

 _Alice's face turned a pale white color, her body shook as if she was shivering and her pupils sharpened. "You're only a child, Sapphire. You don't know what is best for you—"_

 _"I do." Sapphire ground out._

 _Her mother stood her ground, the too much alike women were stuck in a stalemate; Alice sneered. "You do not. This is just some silly faze that wi—"_

 _"It's not a faze; I love her!"_

 _Ruby's eyes widened, her mouth dropped in surprise. Her girlfriend's outburst seemed to slip right over her head as Sapphire continued._

 _"I love her and there is nothing you can say or do that will ever change that," Sapphire stated, glaring viciously at her startled mother. "…I just hope you can learn to except that this is who I am and this—" She pointed to Ruby blindly._

 _"This, this amazing person, is who I want to spend the rest of my life with," Sapphire tightened her grip on Ruby's hand and smiled brighter when Ruby squeezed back._

 ** _Yeah, stardom is seductive_**

 _Ruby tugged her cap so that it was blocking the light from her eyes. Her vision fixed on the pitcher who prepared to throw the ball._

 _PING_

 _Everyone stood up when the ball hit the bat. They all watched it fly over the players and past the gate; the crowd went wild. Ruby sprang into a slow jog along with her other teammates who were on the bases. Sapphire watched the Hawks sulk and throw their hats to the ground in anger._

 _"Yeah Ruby!" Rose cheered; clapping loudly along with Lapis._

 _Sapphire felt a smile twitch at her lips; they had thrown Ruby into the air and were carrying her around the field. Her hands clapped together softly._

 ** _Temporarily broken-hearted_**

 _Ruby nodded into her chest, her rough curls tickling her chin. "We all have to go our separate ways sometimes, Sapph. Just focus on your career and then let everything else fall into place later,"_

 _Sapphire bit her lower lip. "…and then there's you, I'd have to worry about girls flirting with you and not being able to do anything about it,"_

 _"What about you?" Ruby asked, fingers stopping in their tracing. "Tons of people are going to faint at the sight of you and with all those college parties, I bet you'll meet someone—someone who actually understands you when you speak smart,"_

 _"And you'll meet someone who actually understands basketball and baseball," Sapphire snickered._

 _"…" Ruby bit her lip. "…I really want this to work, no matter how far we are from each other. It'll only be for a year, right? Then I can aim for a college by yours and we can get an apartment or something,"_

 _Sapphire nodded, smiling softly. "We can bring Snowflake with us,"_

 _"Of course," Ruby chuckled. "She wouldn't let us leave without her,"_

 _This was going to work, it had to._

 _…right?_

 ** _But regardless  
I am stuck, with hope_**

 _Ruby stopped to slowly close the door, she turned around to face her girlfriend. "That went well,"_

 _"I know," Sapphire grinned. "My parents are sort of okay with this, you're taking me on a college tour next month and we have a Christmas party next week,"_

 _Ruby smiled. "And a New Year's party with our closest friends," She pointed out. "It's going to be a great weekend,"_

 _"I know," Sapphire agreed, wrapping her arms around the younger girl's neck._

 _"I can't wait,"_

 ** _That I will see you in the future_**

 _Ruby cleared her throat, sitting up straighter as she recollected her memory. "Well, we go to the same school but last year we never really talked to each other. The first time I saw Sapphire was during a pep-rally, I was being called down the aisle with the rest of the football players when Rose screamed my name over the crowd."_

 _"I looked up and smiled at her and briefly noticed her sitting with Pearl, Lapis and Sapphire," Ruby chuckled, scratching the back of her neck. "It wasn't love at first sight or anything like that, I don't believe in that crap. But I remember saying that she was pretty before looking away and talking to my friends again,"_

 _Aero nodded, smiling softly before nodding to his daughter. "…what about you?"_

 _Sapphire hummed. "I've always known about Ruby, when Lapis had a crush on her that's all she'd talk about. So, since eighth grade, when Lapis first pointed her out in our gym class," She giggled softly. "Ruby was getting yelled at for tying Amethyst's shoe laces together,"_

 ** _I know, that we will be on top  
So here we go_**

 _"Hey," Ruby's soft soothing voice made her look up, her girlfriend frowned. "Why are you outside in the cold when everyone else is inside?"_

 _Sapphire made up her mind._

 _"…just needed to get you alone and I knew you'd follow me if I left," Sapphire smiled, blindly hitting ignore and sliding it into her back pocket. "Today was crazy,"_

 _Ruby bit her lip, resting her strong hands on her girlfriend's hips. "It was," She pressed closer to Sapphire until their fronts were touching, a delicious heat forming. "Now, I recall you saying that you'd be all mine once we got home,"_

 _Sapphire shivered, leaning into the hot breath on her ear. "I am a women of my words," She licked her slightly chapped lips, moistening them, before she leaned in to plant a kiss on Ruby's waiting lips._

 _She tried her hardest to ignore the constant buzzing in the back of her pocket. It was probably her mom, or dad, trying to get in contact with her. They must be worried. Sapphire knew that tomorrow she would have to face them and the real battle would begin. But—_

 _Tomorrow could wait, Sapphire just wanted to have this moment._

 ** _No matter if I live or die_**

Ruby was broken from her trance when her phone started buzzing in her pocket, _Sapphire._ "Hold on guys, I have to take this," She said, getting up from the couch and leaving her friends to their videogame. "Hey, what's up, you guys left like twenty minutes ago—" Ruby began, only to be cut off.

"You got accepted into my school and you tell me to wait until I'm miles away so I can't kiss you in person!" Sapphire exclaimed on the other side of the line, causing Ruby to smile. "I know you told me to wait but Marceline kept bugging me—yes, bugging me!" Ruby heard her shout at Marceline in the background.

Ruby leaned against her front door, smirking. "I knew I'd keep you longer if I showed it to you here. But yeah, we're going to be leaving together I guess…if you're fine with that,"

"I'm more than fine with it," Sapphire sighed softly. "I'm so happy and proud of you, I wish I could kiss you,"

Ruby smiled wider, turning to the side when she caught her friends giving her soft smiles and teasing glances from the couch. "You can kiss me all you want when we're in school together,"

Sapphire let out a long sigh, a smile in her voice. "…I have to go, we're heading for a tunnel, but I just wanted you to know that I love you so much," She whispered longingly.

"I love you too," Ruby said without missing a beat. "I'll see you,"

 ** _I Promise, Imma meet you on the other side_**

* * *

 **This is the end of Going the Distance. I always envisioned Jasper and Lapis taking a break from their relationship because it wasn't healthy, but this story was so stretched and I didn't want to go into another chapter explaining how it came about so I decided to do the time skip and briefly mention it.**

 **With Ruby and Sapphire; I didn't want them to take a break. They belong together and they will fight for their relationship. The only way for them to keep going, with the loss of trust/communication due to Cynthia, would be for Ruby to make the ultimate promise; a proposal.**

 **There won't be a prom scene, sorry but I feel like I've summed everything up with their high school years.**

 **Rose and Greg are in a healthy relationship and raising Steven. Pearl may struggle with her new trainer S (she is meant to be that mystery girl who was on the show) and that will bring up her old feelings for Rose.**

 **Peridot continues with her photography and the trio (Ruby, Jasper, and Amethyst) move in different directions but they will always find each other.**

 **The poem is brought to you from a Netflix show called _The_ _Get_ _Down_ and it's about music and hip hop being introduced in the 70's. Great storyline, but if you begin to watch it be mindful that they will not be moving forward with another season.**

 **I hope the flashbacks weren't too hard to follow; I just wanted to show everyone how far the gang has come and where they will be going.**

 **I'm not sure if I'll do a college series or not, but I will finish A Glimpse. That reveals who they all turn out to be when they become adults.**

 **Sorry for not updating all summer but I hope this long chapter makes up for it. Thank you all for sticking with me during this story and I'll try updating some other stories soon. I may have to do a college AU, just so I can tie up some loose ends.**

 **Thanks for reading, it means so much to me that you guys have been with me since the beginning.**


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